Before darkness fell
by hik
Summary: How it all began... the story of the two people who are responisble for Harry's entrance into this world. His parents... who they were, how they met... everything
1. The Fabulous Four

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own these characters.**

Sirius brushed his dark, elegant hair out of his eyes, as he straightened out the piece of crumpled parchment that James had threw at him during the Potions lesson. 'Yeah, that's a much better idea, I guess it'll be best to simply let Snape make a fool out of himself' said James untidy scrawl. Sirius smiled to himself. A loud bang was heard, and it appeared that the girl sitting on the table right next to him had clearly fainted. James shook his head at Sirius, who shrugged innocently.

Professor Kinabolt, their Potions master had made James and Sirius sit in two different parts of the classroom, since both of them interrupted the lesson too much. Remus was seated right upfront and listening raptly to every word the Professor was saying. Peter, on the other hand was busy doodling on a spare piece of parchment, clearly not taking in a word said by the teacher. James and Sirius were formulating a plan for humiliating greasy-haired Snape.

'I always knew Marsha had a thing for you Padfoot ol' pal!' said James, to Sirius, as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower after a long day's work. Sirius shook his head. 'But, then again, who doesn't?' piped in Peter. 'Yeah, you are kind of right this time Peter. Who doesn't? It appears every girl in school will actually die for you to even talk to them once!' said James. Remus trotted up next to James. 'You know what? That potion Professor Kinabolt's been teaching today is highly useful' he said. 'Nerd!' shouted James at Remus's face. 'What?' asked Remus, as if caught offhanded. 'I meant it can be highly useful for trying on Snape!' he said, refining his statement. 'Say that again!' said Sirius, eagerly. Remus laughed. 'What was the potion?' asked Sirius, wrinkling his nose. 'Well, it was a potion that can make the drinker highly ambitious, and hyper and over-adventurous' said Remus, slowly and carefully choosing his words. 'Ah!' voiced Sirius. 'Not bad Moony ol' boy! Not bad at all!' he commented. 'What do you think Prongs?' he asked James. 'Yeah I think that's pretty cool Moony' said James, clearly thinking what Sirius was thinking.

'But, hey what about your dates?' asked James suddenly.

'What about them?' asked Sirius.

'You all got dates?' James asked.

'What for?' asked Sirius.

'Tsk!' said James, 'to take out on the Hogsmeade trip!', he said impatiently.

'Not yet, but I'll manage to _choose_ one' phonated Sirius.

'What about you guys?' he asked.

'I'm asking Elise' said Peter.

'Nice' said Sirius sarcastically, imagining the slim, pale, weird-looking girl of Ravenclaw.

'I'm taking Alyssa' said Remus.

'Wow!' said James

'And you Prongs?' Sirius asked.

'Huh?' said James.

'I said who you are going to ask out for our next Hogsmeade trip?' he repeated.

'I Dunno!' he said. 'But it'll be a lot harder for me than it will be for you, you know' he said 'I don't have girls standing in every corridor just to catch a glimpse of me.' He said. Sirius remained silent, apparently aware of the fact that what James was saying was quite true.

Sirius, James, Remus and Peter were all fifth years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were all in Gryffindor, which was by far the best house in all school and were all known as the troublemakers at Hogwarts. Although their pranks were just for fun, they sometimes turned out to be quite dangerous. But Sirius or James didn't care. They were the masterminds of the group. Sirius was, as everybody knew, the most dashing, handsome guy in the whole of the school. He had dark hair, which was always neatly set, falling into his eyes, unlike James, who had hazel-brown eyes and untidy hair that would never flatten down. Remus was pale, and was once bitten by a werewolf, which was the reason for his becoming a werewolf every time the moon turned full. Peter was plump and had small watery eyes and a cowering personality. He had mousy hair and a pointed nose. He took refuge in James and Sirius's friendship. Not that James and Sirius were gangsters, of course. They simply took pleasure in practical jokes.

'James Potter!' came a voice from behind them.

'Yes?' said James turning around.

'I want to see you in my office. Now!' said the voice of their Transfiguration teacher, Professor Minerva McGonagall.

James looked at Sirius, horrified. He plainly didn't remember doing anything wrong in McGonagall's lesson for the past few weeks. But even if he had done something, Sirius would've done it with him. Then why was it that it was always James that got caught? James looked at Sirius suspiciously then winked and walked off confidently with Professor McGonagall to her office.

'Yes Professor?' he asked as they were seated in her office.

'Learning Transfiguration does not mean trying it on fellow students, or their possessions Mr. Potter!' she said, her nostrils flared.

'I'm fully aware of that!' said James.

'Since you are from my house, I'm totally abashed at what you have done!' she said.

'And may I know what it is?' he said, straining to remember what he had actually done to earn himself such a lecture from McGonagall.

'Maybe you can explain the transfiguration of Mr. Snape's books into slabs, his quills into worms and his wand into a toy snake, for a start?' she said, shoving the things under James's nose.

'Oh that!' blurted out James, before he could stop himself.

'Undoubtedly, you've been doing quite a lot of mischief to have completely forgotten about such a little thing!' she mocked.

James had visibly not heard her at all, because he was looking at the several things he and Sirius had had fun transfiguring.

'But you can't say that it wasn't a decent bit of transfiguration, Professor' he said looking up hopefully.

He had a very good sense of humor, which sometimes came in handy for getting himself out of detentions especially with Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. James was pretty sure he saw a small, smug smile appear on McGonagall's face; as if she was feeling proud that her students could actually do Transfiguration.

'Anyways!' she said abruptly, the smile disappearing from her face as quickly as it had appeared. 'I don't want to see this kind of behavior from now on, do you understand?' she said with a slight trace of angriness still in her voice. 'You may leave now!' she said finally.

'Thanks!' said James, getting up from his seat, grinning to himself and leaving the classroom.

'What was up with McGonagall?' asked Sirius as soon as James returned from McGonagall's office. 'Don't tell me you don't remember!' said James. 'What?' said Sirius defensively. 'Remember that Transfiguration we did to Snivelly's stuff?' he asked. 'Oh that!' said Sirius laughing his dog-like laugh. 'Yeah!' said James. 'It's weird how I get caught and you don't!' he added, narrowing his eyes at Sirius 'Yeah' agreed Sirius with a small, flashy smile.


	2. OWLs

**I don't own these characters except for just a few of them... the story's mine. **

The Ordinary Wizarding Levels were approaching. They were held in the mid of June. The climate was amazing as the sun shone jubilantly over the castle of Hogwarts. All the students simply wanted to lie on their backs in the sun and enjoy the fresh summer's air. But all they could do was wish to be out in the sun, sitting inside their common rooms. All the heads of the houses were asked to strictly prohibit their students to waste their time. Hogwarts always produced good results and it seemed that Dippit didn't want this year to be an exception. The famous group of four of Gryffindor too seemed to be taking the O.W.Ls seriously and was studying really hard. James and Sirius were found putting their History of Magic Notes together. Remus was always bent over a book or two, or was around asking anybody who would, to test him on one subject or the other. Peter, too, had a lot to catch up. He was mostly found in the library, poring over book after book, probably gathering information to make his notes. There was no time for mischief, not even for Sirius, who usually found time for it no matter what. This, however, proved to be a good thing for Severus Snape, who was no longer distracted by pranks from the famous four and was always known to be locked up in the Slytherin boys dormitory in his usual solitude, studying. The girls of fifth year in Gryffindor Tower were studying so hard they were found in frenzy most of the time. Lily Evans, Amanda Bones, Jennifer Fanning, and Stephanie Reeve of fifth year were always huddled in a corner together, combine studying. Stephanie fainted twice and was rushed to the hospital wing. Jennifer had diarrhea and had turned as pale and peaky as Remus in a matter of only two days. Lily and Amanda seemed to be the only ones who were in perfect condition to continue studying in their feverish manner. The usually crowded and noisy Gryffindor common room was now suddenly quite with an air of panic in it. The Fat Lady in her pink satin dress was quite happy as she was not frequently disturbed unless a student or two went out to check something in the library. The rest of the Gryffindors were warned not to disturb the fifth, sixth and seventh years. As these were the most important years in magical studies.

They were also given career advice by the head of their house: Professor Minerva McGonagall. James had been quite tempted by the career of a Gringotts dealer but had finally chosen a career as an Auror. Sirius had been scolded by Professor McGonagall when he asked whether there was a career in dating girls and was sent back and given another time and date for career advice, so that he could 'refine his thoughts in career taking'. Remus had clearly said that he wanted to be an Auror and Peter had been in a severe dilemma between being a Healer or a Muggle Accidents officer and had been rushed off to the hospital wing.

Amanda had said that she wanted to do Magical Law and Jennifer, everyone knew, was going to choose to be a Healer. Stephanie on the other hand wanted to go in Muggle Artifacts. Lily, however, wouldn't say what she had chosen.

As the O.W.Ls came nearer, the panic increased rapidly. More and more of the students had to be taken to the hospital wing to get Calming potion. Soon their date sheet came out and to the Gryffindor's horror their first O.W.L was Potions. Peter, who was never good at potions had shrieked at this and was close to tears saying that he didn't know a thing about brewing a strengthening potion even though he had studied all the time. James was also not very good at Potions, but he was quite sure he would get good grades in it if he put his mind to it. Sirius had always been astonishingly good in all subjects, keeping up with his mischief all the time. The second exam, to James and Sirius's triumph, was Transfiguration. They were so good at it that it didn't matter whether they studied or practiced before the test, they were going to get an Outstanding in it anyhow, and they were quite sure of that. The third had been Herbology, fourth was Divination, Arithmancy for those who took it instead of Divination. Then was Muggle Studies. Since most of Gryffindor didn't take Muggle Studies, they were to have the day as a break. Defense against the Dark Arts came next. Charms was last, which was also a 'piece o' cake' according to Sirius.

All of the students got pretty well through their O.W.Ls. Only few of them had gone panic-stricken in the middle of the tests. James had managed to keep playing Quidditch in between his exams, no matter how many times McGonagall warned him not to do so. Amanda boasted that she was pretty sure she'd get an O in most of her subjects. The others were getting ready for the next Hogsmeade weekend, which was right the next day.

Review!!! Please... it'll make me write more. Flame if you like to!


	3. Dating Dilemma

**Read: I do not own these characters!!**

'Padfoot!' cried James the same day their exams had ended, as he trotted up to Sirius, who was standing in the doorway, holding a water balloon.

'Yeah?' said Sirius looking uninterested.

'Managed to _choose_ a date?' James asked.

'Yeah' said Sirius, something James wasn't expecting.

'Wha-?' he started.

'Yeah, I did, I mean she's quite nice and all. So I thought, why not give her a try. Plus she was dying for me to ask her out, honestly, practically fainted when I told her I wanted her to come with me to the Hogsmeade weekend' informed Sirius casually.

'Who is it?' asked James curiously.

'Lisa Jones' replied Sirius offhandedly.

'Lisa Jones!' thought James, picturing the pretty, slim, smart girl in his mind.

She was the prettiest girl in their entire batch and was a Ravenclaw. James scowled at him. Sirius could get a date any time he wanted to, any girl would die to go out with him, while James couldn't find anybody to take with him! He was deep in thoughts about who to ask to when he bumped into Lily Evans, another Gryffindor. Instead of saying 'Sorry' he blurted out:

'Will you go out with me?' without thinking.

'Huh?' said Lily clearly shocked.

It was common news, that James had a crush on Lily since the first day at school. In his first two years, he had been too meek to say anything else. However, later on, when he had become Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, his popularity boosted. After that, Lily had thought James was too full of himself and had rejected him in the fourth year for the first time. James had been blue for weeks, but then he had got over himself and from then onwards kept looking for excuses to ask Lily out. However, this time it wasn't such. He had merely popped the question out at her due to the confusion in his mind. He waited fearfully for an answer. He was quite sure she was going to refuse like the countless number of times she had in the past.

Lily looked at him like he was out of his mind, didn't answer him and stalked off towards the library. James groaned. 'Now look what I've done!' he thought to himself. 'I guess Lily is just too good to ever be mine' he thought gloomily as he set off towards the Gryffindor common room. 'Stinky Hinkypunk' he muttered at the portrait of a Fat Lady that hid the Gryffindor dormitories behind it. 'You better pay attention to your manners!' the Fat Lady snapped at him, then swung forwards to admit him in the common room. James clambered inside the portrait hole. A merrily cracking fire greeted him. This, however, did not raise his spirits one bit.

Meanwhile, in the library, instead of looking up for notes on Kappas, for one of her junior's Defense against the Dark Arts essay, Lily was staring dreamily into space. Several books she had looked up lay open on the desk and half a roll of parchment dangled over the edge of her table. She was thinking about what James Potter had just said. Although it was old news by now... how James always kept popping the same question at her over and over again, it seemed really different this time. Lily recalled how he had grinned sheepishly, almost lovingly when he had blurted out his proposal. There was an odd sort of a charm in James that she had never noticed before. She almost adored it for a second. 'What are you thinking?' she scolded herself as she tried to divert her attention on her essay again and away from James and his 1000 watt smile. She mentally shook herself for even thinking that way. But after only moments of thinking about James, she found that she couldn't concentrate on the Kappas essay anymore. (She decided to apologize to Elisa, her junior, who was a fourth year Gryffindor) Frustrated, she slammed close the books that lay on her table and rested her face on her hand exasperatedly, her innocent face turned into a small frown. She thought for about half an hour. About the pros and cons of James Potter and tried to remember all the times he had tried to ask her out. This time, however, she couldn't remember one reason why she had possibly refused him. In the end, she came to the conclusion that she would accept his proposal this time, and see how it went, and as she hadn't been able to take her mind off him for days, it could also prove to be best for her and her calmness of mind. Lily stuffed the parchment roll in her bag along with her ink bottle, grabbed some of the books she had looked up, deposited them in her bag, swung it on her shoulder and walked off towards the Gryffindor tower.

**How was that? And do you really think the other chapter was small?? Oh, and I still need your suggestions. I'm thinking of discontinuing it, I don't think I've made it as good as it should be! **


	4. James in Luck!

He was doomed, why hadn't he thought about this before? Now he was going to look like a fool when everyone else has a date and he doesn't. James Potter covered his face in his hands. He either had to think of someone who'd possibly go out with him at once or pretend to be sick the other day and stay out of the trip. The latter seemed far easier and appealing than the former one.

'Hey, James!' said Daniel Thompson, captain and chaser at the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

James looked up.

'What's wrong? Wanna come and sit with us?' he offered.

'No, thanks, Dan. I'm okay!' he said and lowered his head on his lap again.

This was the worst he had felt ever. He was Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; it was amazing how he couldn't manage to get a date for a Hogsmeade trip. Someone climbed in through the portrait hole, but James didn't look up. His spirits had flown unnaturally low and he couldn't muster up the courage to look around at all the happy faces of his fellow Gryffindors when he was in such sorrow. He was seated in a chair next to the fire. He heard someone sit opposite him. 'Is it Padfoot, Moony or Wormtail?' he thought glumly. He was sure one of them was there to talk about their date and what they were planning to do tomorrow. Then he heard whoever it was seated in the armchair opposite him clear their throat almost pleadingly.

He decided he had to face whoever it was sooner or later and thinking that it was best to get over the worst as quickly as possible. He slowly raised his head and then sat bolt upright at the sight which greeted him. Lily Evans accommodated the chair opposite him. James's mouth went suddenly dry. He gulped. Lily didn't seem to be in a bad mood. But why was she sitting there? He looked away, trying to look uninterested. After a very awkward pause:

'Er...James?' said Lily, tentatively, breaking the silence.

'Yeah?' James shot back, almost abruptly.

'Umm... I thought over what you just said' Lily started, growing steadily redder with every word.

James waited... he wasn't even sure what he was expecting over here.

'I...umm...decided to accept your offer' she said, closing her eyes as she said this.

James was too shocked to believe what he was hearing and pinched himself on the arm, earning a sever pain. He hastily closed his mouth and, flabbergasted, stared at Lily.

She was now blushing very furiously and looked down quickly so James wouldn't see her flush.

James opened and closed his mouth for a few seconds, then finally finding his voice:

'Lily, you can't believe how...how...' he stammered

'It's okay James, we can see how it goes tomorrow and further plans can be made after that' she said quickly and firmly. 'See you tomorrow' she smiled, got up and hurried towards her own dormitory, closely followed by Jennifer, who had been watching all the time.

James slumped back in his seat (he had been on the edge all this while) and heaved a sigh of relief and bliss. He couldn't believe his luck! After all these years, Lily Evans had given in and had agreed to go out with him! He smiled inwardly and grinned at himself for being such a 'lucky dawg'.

'What's up?' asked Sirius, taking a place next to James.

'Nothing' James lied

'Yeah, okay, I so believe you!' he said mockingly. 'C'mon, what is it? A person doesn't just smile to himself for nothing!' he said. 'Unless, the person is some sort of a maniac' he added thoughtfully.

'You'll see tomorrow!' said James, grinning mischievously. He got up and set off towards his own dormitory, leaving Sirius gaping at him.


	5. The Big Day

**I don't own these characters. Just the plot and the story are mine! Hope you like this chapter...**

The Gryffindor common room was very full and noisy the following morning. All the students, from third year onwards, were getting ready to go to their Hogsmeade trip. James was exceptionally happy that day. He hadn't told anyone that he had finally managed to get a date, or who he was going with. He wanted it all to be a surprise.

'You got a date?' asked Peter to James, in an airy tone.

James remained silent. Peter took his silence as a 'no' and chuckled, on which James grinned more broadly than ever. Sirius and Remus got out of the boys dormitory, their best clothes on. Both of them looked really happy with themselves, but none as happy as James. James was on cloud number nine; he had finally accomplished the impossible by succeeding in asking Lily out.

'I'm going to meet Alyssa down in the Great Hall' said Remus, small pink patches appearing on his usually pale face.

'Yeah, I'm meeting Elise down there too!' said Peter importantly.

'Hey, Prongs!' said Sirius, unexpectedly. 'Who did you ask? You never told me!' he accused.

'The more relevant question would be... whether he has managed to get a date or not!' said Peter, laughing wickedly.

'Oh, shut up Wormtail!' snapped Sirius. 'I know better. Planning to give a surprise here?'

James still remained silent, but kept smiling inwardly to himself; he was waiting for Lily to come out. She was taking unusually long. The carriages that took them to Hogsmeade were about to leave, it was nearly time. Students were requested to go downstairs and write their names on the list if they were going to go. Everyone rushed to get out of the common room. Lily still hadn't come out. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all made to go downstairs.

'You coming?' Sirius raised his eyebrows at James.

James nodded uncertainly and told them he'd be down in a minute. 'Have it your way!' said Remus as he clapped James on the back and left the common room. James glanced at his watch; Lily should've been ready long back, what was keeping her? He started to panic and various things came to his mind. Maybe she had just lied to James yesterday. Maybe she was going to see him looking like a fool thinking he had managed to ask her out, and not come out of her dormitory at all? He was about to lose all hope when Lily finally came out of her dormitory.

His jaw dropped. Lily was clad in a mauve dress that had thin shoulder straps and a square neck. A necklace of pearls adorned her long, slim neck and her red hair was tied up in an elegant knot on the back of her head. She was looking amazingly fabulous and the mauve shade really suited her. She smiled at him, the most amazing smile he had ever seen. He realized his mouth was still open, and hastily shut it. 'C'mon' he said, finding his voice. 'We'll be late, otherwise' he added. 'Sure, I'm sorry I'm late!' she said hastily. 'Doesn't matter' James replied carelessly. 'The wait was worth it' he thought to himself. Lily linked her arm in his and walked off down the stairs. James couldn't believe what was happening here. 'You look beautiful by the way' he commented, mentally shaking himself for not saying this before. Lily blushed, 'Thanks!' she muttered.

They reached the grounds just in time. The carriages were about to leave. James and Lily hurriedly signed their names on the large scroll that was magicked to hang in mid-air and took a carriage down to Hogsmeade. Luckily, they had the whole carriage by themselves. James's luck had just begun! He didn't know what to say or what to do. It was unbelievable having Lily at his side, with her arm linked to his! It fit there properly, like a piece of puzzle. Fortunately, Lily started off the conversation herself. She was extremely easy to talk to and very easy-going. James adored everything about her. He felt at complete ease when he was with her. They talked all the way till they reached Hogsmeade. Here, James helped Lily off the carriage in a very gentlemanly manner. She giggled. He loved that soft laugh, it was heaven, just being with her!

Hogsmeade was a beautiful, all-wizard village. It was a hillside area and the Hogwarts Express went through this town to get to Hogwarts. Its beautiful scenic surroundings were the icing on the cake at the moment. James smiled at the beauty of the village. He looked around for any sign of Sirius, Remus or Peter, but he couldn't see them anywhere! He decided that he would meet them at 5:00 sharp in front of Honeydukes, as they had planned.

'So, where will we be going first then?' he asked Lily casually.

'Hmm... So I'm doing the deciding over here?' she said, thinking

'Too right you are, it's all your choice today!' said James dulcetly.

'Right! Umm... how about exploring around a bit, for a good shop?' she suggested, doubtfully.

'Great!' agreed James.

They strolled around the village and went past several shops. Everyone who saw them together, either didn't notice them, and if they did, they'd gape at him. One of the shops, which James had never noticed before was dark and damp and gave him an odd foreboding that it was a Dark artifact shop. They ambled past it and found themselves in front of a small, colorful little shop that was covered with all sorts of posters. It was, no doubt, a gift shop.

'Hey! Let's check this one out' said Lily, speaking James mind.

She enthusiastically pushed open the door and stepped inside. There were various sort of colorful and cuddly things inside, one section, however was for posters. Lily let out a squeal and ran forwards towards the poster section. James grinned and looked around for something interesting. He noticed a cuddly little cushion that changed shape every time it was touched. He examined it closely. It seemed really nice, and girly. It changed from a heart into a cat-shaped form. He decided Lily would like such things and went off to the counter to purchase it. He hastily stuffed it into a bag, so Lily wouldn't notice. He wanted to gift it to her, so he had gotten it packed.

The cheerful witch at the counter had wrapped it up in a cute, red wrapping paper that had little moving pictures of bears on it. She had winked at James before handing it over to him in an identical red bag. He turned around and walked over to Lily.

'Like something?' he asked her, standing behind her.

'Yeah, I like a couple of 'em' she said, deciding which one to choose from a large variety of posters of 'The Wiz boys' that were spread out over the counter. 'Wiz boys' was Lily's favorite boy band and she loved their music.

'This one's good' said James, jabbing his finger at one particular poster. It had a blue-black backdrop and the Wiz boys were standing separately in identical, white robes.

'You think so too?' cried Lily delightedly.

'Yeah' said James

'Cool! I was thinking of the same one!' she said happily, opening her money bag.

'Miss! Since you have come here for the first time, we'll give this to you as a token from us!' said the wizard behind the counter. James winked at him. He had mouthed that he would give him the money afterwards.

'Wow!' said Lily, clearly impressed.

'Out pleasure!' said the wizard, bowing slightly.

'Thanks!' Lily muttered and took the poster the wizard had handed her, and carefully put it into her purse.

**Thanks for your reviews Crimson Candy. You make me feel really important. But, I'm discontinuing unless I get enough reviews! makes up mind**


	6. Hogsmeade Date

**I don't own these characters (and have no desire to) our very own J.K. Rowling does...**

They exited the shop, Lily talking feverishly about the Wiz boys and how she loved their music and was addicted to all of their songs.

'Let's get into the Three Broomsticks for a drink, then we can explore around more. I never knew the village of Hogsmeade could be packed with so many irresistible shops!' exclaimed Lily, when she stopped talking about her favorite musical group.

'You took the words right out of my mouth!' cried James as they made their way through swarms of Hogwarts students to the entrance of The Three Broomsticks. It was a very popular pub in Hogsmeade and their specialty was Madam Rosmerta's (who was the lady at the pub) mulled mead. However, most of the students preferred Butterbeer, an extremely soothing drink that seemed to warm your insides as it slish-sloshed it's way down.

They sat down at a table and placed their orders. Talking to Lily was very amusing and very entertaining. Now that they were on friendlier terms, everything seemed right. James and Lily had loads in common. James was just getting to know Lily and already, he had figured out that she was no ordinary girl. She liked most of the stuff girls would consider 'too boyish'. It made him adore her more than ever (of course, it also gave him second thoughts on the gift he had got for her at the downtown gift shop). They talked over Butterbeer and treacle tarts.

'I love Madam Rosmerta's treacle tarts', Lily had exclaimed. 'They remind me so much of the ones my mum makes at home'

'Tell me, how do you find the contrast between the Muggle and the Magical worlds? As you've experienced both...' James asked her after a while, thinking why he hadn't asked her this before.

'Fascinating! Muggles have various ways that are far cleverer than any wizards. Of course, they manage to do everything without magic. And that's pretty hard now I see how easy everything is in the Magical World', Lily proclaimed.

James frowned. He was a pure-blood and came from a Wizarding family; he couldn't stand anything against his Wizarding world or against Wizards and Witches.

'Now you know you're a Witch, I think you should be more loyal towards the Magical World by the way' said James, grinning.

'Of course' smiled Lily. 'That was just my unbiased half speaking!' she said casually, with a wave of her hand.

They kept talking jovially about different aspects of the Magical and Muggle worlds and how they differed. Lily fascinated James by telling him different facts about Muggles and their history. He was absolutely rapt about electricity and how they managed to travel without Floo Powder and Apparation.

'Potter and Evans? Having fun on our little date are we?' drawled an ever-so-familiar voice.

James knew that voice very well and didn't need to turn around to see who it was. Pale face, pointed chin and with a mop of white-blond hair which was almost always slicked back, giving him his wicked appearance – Lucius Malfoy stood sneering at the pair of them. Severus Snape lingered awkwardly in the background enjoying the scene. He was too cowardly to come forward himself and usually took pleasure in others picking the fight instead of him.

Lily's expression suddenly became very wooden. She was always very uncomfortable in the presence of Lucius Malfoy. Lucius came from a pure-blood family. Everyone knew the Malfoys were one of the few pure-blooded families left. He was a Slytherin, which was the house that had turned out many dark wizards. The Fabulous Four or the Marauders had every reason to believe Lucius would turn out to be one too. Malfoy looked down on any one of Muggle parentage, and called them 'Mudblood' which, in the Wizarding world was a very foul name for someone who's Muggle-born, someone like Lily Evans. Although Lily knew better that she was far better than Lucius would ever be, it didn't help her feel more comfortable about herself. Malfoy had scorned and mocked her from the very first day, and since his parents were very rich and had a large number of contacts, the Marauders knew better than to pick a fight with him. He always seemed to get out of trouble easily than anyone else.

'You got a problem with that, buddy?' asked James offhandedly.

Lucius snorted. 'As if I haven't better things to worry about!' he scoffed.

'Doesn't look like that to me' said James coolly. He turned around and started talking to Lily again.

Lucius, having no comeback and not finding any insult to throw at James when he, himself didn't have a date and the Potter boy did, he whipped around and marched out of the pub, muttering 'Mudbloods swarming the place' as he left.

'If anything's got dirtier blood than you, I'm a Hinkypunk!' called James after him. He snickered briefly and turned his attention on Lily again.

She looked extremely uncomfortable and kept fumbling with her purse.

'Lily!' James wailed. 'Lucius is just a big, air-headed goof who thinks he's like, oh so cool! Don't let him get to you!' he said in a very assuring way.

Lily forced a tight smile. James grinned back at her, which made her smile broader than ever. He winked at her and got up from the table.

'C'mon! Let's get going. I have to go to Zonko's too. I'm currently running low on Dungbombs' he grimaced.

Lily laughed; she had begun to like James more and more with every passing second. He was out of the ordinary. A normal boy wouldn't have expressed his desire to go to a joke shop in front of his date. James, however, seemed to be very natural, he wasn't made up like Lucius, Lily thought.

'Sure' she smiled and got up from their table as well. It had been a wonderful day up till now and she didn't know what other surprises the rest of their time together was holding for her.

James and Lily got into Zonko's. It was packed with many students from Hogwarts. James got through easily because of the fact that everyone was terrified he'd jinx them if they didn't move. Lily realized this and scowled inwardly. She didn't like people others were terrified from; however, she wasn't likely to spoil her day just because of this thing. She placed her order of a few Dungbombs and Wet Fireworks along with a huge one from James. This surprised James very much. He had long before realized that Lily was apart from normal giggly-girlies. But Dungbombs? He shook his head to get back to real life. He was certainly discovering something new by the second. Girls usually preferred staying away from joke stuff like this. However, being a troublemaker he greatly appreciated the fact that Lily was unlike other girls he had known.

**Sorry this chapter is such a drag, but I couldn't help but give some looooong details about their date! And thnx Lavender for your sweet reviews, do you really want chapter from one characters POV? I found such stories pretty boring... Anyways, what weakness do you suggest I put in our dear old James?**


	7. A perfect end to a successful date

**_You_ know I don't own these characters, _I_ know that I don't own them... then _why_ am I wasting my precious time writing this stupid disclaimer?!??**

When they got out of Zonko's, it was almost time to leave. James hadn't realized this, but Lily being very punctual herself spoke up at once:

'C'mon let's leave, it's nearly time to go and I expect you're going to meet your buddies somewhere?' she asked.

'Yeah' said James, suddenly remembering that he had to meet Sirius, Remus and Peter outside Honeydukes at 5:00. He smiled as he pictured their astonished faces when they would see him with none other than Lily Evans!

They reached Honeydukes, and sure enough, there beside the entrance of the sweetshop Remus and Peter stood with their dates. Elise, who had come with Peter didn't look too happy. She was slightly frowning and stood awkwardly next to Peter. Remus and Alyssa however, looked extremely happy. They were talking animatedly to each other. James was happy for Remus. It was seldom that he liked anyone and he was especially picky about girls. Sirius and Lisa, were no where to be seen. James scanned the village. He couldn't see his best friend and his pretty date anywhere. They walked over to Peter and Remus.

'L-l-lily?' stammered Peter. He was clearly shocked to find who James's date was. James grinned widely. 'But how...' started Peter. Lily smiled. 'Long story, Peter!' she said good-naturedly, linking her arm in James's.

'Lily, James! I always knew you were meant for each other' said Remus, coming forward and addressing them formally.

'Yeah right! You knew that through Divination? Where did you see it, in the crystal ball or in my teacup?' asked James.

Remus laughed. 'Neither James, My sixth sense was enough for that. You two were too much alike!' he said truthfully.

'We just found out!' said Lily. 'You should've told us before. All those times we loathed each other like anything' she enunciated.

'Speak for yourself!' cautioned James. 'I never loathed you! How dare you say that!' he said in mock outrage.

'Look, there's Sirius and Lisa!' Peter pointed excitedly.

'Keep your hair on, Peter! I want to surprise Sirius' said James, earnestly.

Sirius and Lisa walked towards them. Apparently, they weren't aware of the time. Moreover, they weren't aware of anything that was going on. Lisa was snuggled closed to Sirius as they walked towards Honeydukes. She seemed extremely happy. Sirius looked less blissful, but was all the same talking raptly to his date. James grinned; Sirius could never let a good date go to waste! They strolled over to them and, just as James had predicted... Sirius's jaw dropped at the site of Lily.

'Lily!' gasped Sirius, abruptly letting go of Lisa. Lisa threw him a reproachful look. 'How...what...where...?' he stammered, nonplussed.

James and Lily laughed. 'You can't believe it, can you?' asked James. 'I can't either!' he said triumphantly. Sirius was still mouthing wordlessly, like a helpless fish. 'It's ok, fill you in with the details later' said James, thumping Sirius on his back. 'C'mon, let's go the carriages are about to leave'

'Goodnight!' said James as Lily made to leave for her dormitory that night. They had had a wonderful day so far. 'Goodnight!' she replied. And she did something James could never have thought of. She pecked him on the cheek causing him to go very red before continuing her way up her dormitory stairs. James rubbed the spot where she had kissed him, too shocked to say anything.

'Lucky dog!' said Sirius, from behind him.

'I sure am' said James as he turned around, and went to sit on the chair next to Sirius's, a pleasant smile playing on his face.

He told Sirius all about how he had blurted out his proposal to Lily and how she had said they would give it a try. Sirius was amazed at the co incidents. He then started grumbling about how typical a girl Lisa was and that he didn't care if she was the prettiest girl in Hogwarts.

'Padfoot, she'll die if you break up with her!' warned James.

'C'mon! Other girls have survived with me breaking up with them, right? I don't think she'll be any different!' Sirius retorted. 'And anyway, she's such a sissy. She showed me off to all her friends and then acted like she was some kind of a princess, went all giggly over me! Very annoying, to tell you the truth! You are one lucky man as Lily is no ordinary girl. I mean, a girl who likes Dungbombs... ah... she'd be like my dream girl!' he articulated dreamily.

**Review for the next chapter!! Hope you liked this one... how did you like their reaction. Next chapter: Lily's POV! Watch out for it.**


	8. Lily's POV

Night had fallen and darkness enveloped the huge castle at Hogwarts, but one person lay awake...Lily Evans was staring dreamily up at the canopy of her crimson four-poster bed thinking about James. She had just kissed him goodnight, the mere thought of it made her stomach twirl. She tossed around in her bed, unable to get to sleep. She was still deep amidst thoughts of how the day had gone and how cool James had turned out to be. She had had a fantabulous day and couldn't wait to see more of James. He was really amazing, it was true as everyone said; James Potter was utterly different from any boy in Hogwarts. She cursed herself for not accepting his offer before; she frowned as she thought how many good times they could've shared if she had just said yes to him in the fourth year. It felt like the two previous years had been a waste. He seemed flawless now, although she didn't like how everyone had made way as he came in Zonko's. No matter how good-looking he was or how famous he was, that didn't make him superior to everyone else. Other than that, everything else had been really good. Of course he was no more in looks than the gorgeous Sirius Black, but she didn't care. 'After all, I'm no beauty queen myself' she thought modestly, to herself, matter-of-factly.

She recalled all the times they had spent and how they had sat together at The Three Broomsticks and talked away joyfully, without a care in the world. How James had advised Lily not to let Lucius get to her, how he had liked the same poster she herself had liked and how happy he was when his friends found out he had come with her. She smiled inwardly. Maybe she was wrong; maybe popular kids like James weren't so bad and air-headed after all. The thought of him made her heart flutter and now the sight of him made her heart beat faster than ever. One thing was set... Lily had taken a great liking to _the_ James Potter. But... she thought. What if he didn't feel the same way as she did? After all, he was so famous he could get any girl he liked. Maybe she was just a one-time thing to him? Various horrid thoughts swam in Lily's head as she lay there. Maybe this was just a practical joke and all James wanted to do was to show his friends he could take out Lily Evans, the one girl who was the hardest to get hold of in the whole school? But, then again, hadn't James liked her since day one? Hadn't he always blushed furiously around her? Hadn't he asked her out a million times since the fourth year? Wasn't it intense bliss that she had noticed in his gorgeous, hazel-brown eyes when she had accepted his proposal? She shook her head as if to clear away the thoughts, she was just being stupid! Of course James liked her! Why else would he have asked her out so many times before? Why hadn't he then dated any other girl since the first time she had rejected him? Surely, even such little things were proof of how much James had adored her from the very start?

The holidays had now begun and Lily was to go to her parent's house tomorrow. She would stay there a week and then come back as there was a big match coming up and all the students were to stay at Hogwarts for an extra month or so. She had to get some sleep as the train left early in the morning for Kings Cross Station, but she just couldn't close her eyes for a moment and not picture James. And picturing him, adrenaline flowed through her body and she felt all energetic. It was odd, this was the first date and yet she was thinking so much about him...she couldn't keep her mind off him nor could she think about anything else that didn't include him. Had she subconsciously liked James all this time? She rolled over once more and tried to settle herself in a more comfortable position that would make her go to sleep, but in vain. She scolded herself for this. She had a strong will power and she hated it when she sometimes couldn't take total control of her situation. It was late... she wouldn't be able to wake up tomorrow. It was such a shame she had to go to her parent's right the next day. But, then again, a family reunion was to take place in the following week and her parents wanted her to be there no matter what. She yawned hugely and then rested her head onto her soft pillow and closing her eyes, was engulfed into deep sleep.


	9. Quidditch

**Hey all you sweet people! I don't own any of this...**

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As they had given their O.W.Ls, the fifth year students were either free or attending classes for their N.E.W.Ts, which was the highest qualification that Hogwarts had to offer. Most of the teachers took their time into lessons, boring them with the various rules and regulations of N.E.W.Ts and what grades they needed in these Tests to pursue their chosen career. Professor Minerva McGonagall never wanted to see them free and roaming around and was always swooping down upon them leading them into her Transfiguration class for more tips on her subjects and how they could pass it if they paid careful attention.

At the end of this school year, the best two school teams were to compete and the best of them was to compete against Durmstrang, another Wizarding institute situated somewhere near the North Pole. Gryffindor and Slytherin were easily the best two teams at Hogwarts. They were to have a match next week, which was why Daniel Thompson, the captain of the Quidditch team forced all his teammates to practice each and every day. James was more than happy to do as he was told. He was the best seeker at school and he hadn't lost one single match for his team. He had a knack for spotting certain objects other people didn't and his record time was 3 minutes. He had caught the tiny golden Snitch in a matter of only 3 minutes against the Hufflepuff team last year.

They were training so hard and so frequently that most of the people on the team felt like they were still on broomsticks even when they had both their feet firmly on the ground. Sirius, who was also good at Quidditch volunteered as the Keeper, as the Gryffindor Keeper was currently on leave. James liked it best when he had his best friend alongside him in his favorite sport. The day of the match grew nearer and everybody could just sense the panic of the heated environment. Slytherins let no chance of trying to injure the Gryffindor players go to waste. They stood around corners trying to trip any of the teammates they saw. Daniel had taken this into consideration and had ordered everyone in the house to surround all the players wherever they went, which they were more than happy to do.

'I'm going down for practice, you going to come and watch Remus?' asked James as he shouldered his broomsticks and made to go out of the portrait hole. 'No thanks James I have to go look up some stuff in the library, I have to catch up with the N.E.W.T syllabus!' he said in a matter-of-fact tone. 'Oh!' said James 'Right! If you don't catch up with your new syllabus how in the world will you live up to your label of nerd?' he said sarcastically, then chuckling softly at the stern look on Remus's face he left the dormitory and headed downstairs for practice. He hummed a soft tune under his breath. He was in a very good mood. There was no sign of McGonagall and Lily was to come back from her parent's house today. She had written quite frequently to James during her one-week trip. They had come on such close terms that they were put under the 'couples' section of Hogwarts students. Only those students who seemed to be fit for each other in every way were put in on that list. They were voted on by the whole school. She had sent him an owl yesterday, saying she'd be in Hogwarts today. Although, she didn't write the time of her arrival, at least James had something to look forward to!

'Here already, Potter?' said Edwin Poirier, another chaser on the Gryffindor team. He was quite amused by James's last name and preferred to call him by that. 'Daniel would've liked everyone to show such enthusiasm as yourself' he said, shielding his eyes from the sun and looking up.

'Nice weather!' he commented.

'Yeah' said James, clambering on his broomstick and preparing to fly off any minute. 'What's the hurry?' called out Sirius as he came running towards his best friend.

'I've been savoring the idea of flying, all through our O.W.L papers!' said James, looking back.

'Have you? You did keep on practicing Quidditch during your exams, you can't fool me!' Sirius called out as James flew off into the forget-me-not blue sky. Daniel Thompson and the rest of the Quidditch team arrived moments after that. Daniel showed them various charts he had prepared which showed all of the players where their positions were and how they were to make their moves. They practiced for a long time and when Daniel called out a break they all touched down on the ground, he was enthralled by Sirius's skill as Keeper.

'Why didn't you ever come for tryouts? You're brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!' Daniel exclaimed, thumping Sirius on the back when he touched down on the ground. Sirius grinned, but remained silent, fighting hard not to look too pleased with himself.

'And you!' Daniel turned around to face James. 'Why didn't you ever tell us your best pal is such a good Quidditch player?' he demanded.

'Gwarsh, Danny, I didn't know it myself' said James truthfully. Although Sirius had come out to help James practice, he had never played keeper. And now that he had volunteered for the team, James got to know that he was extraordinarily good at it.

'Alright people! On to your broomsticks again!' Daniel called out to his team, climbing skillfully on his own broom. 'No, practice goes on for another hour so Fulton, you can't leave!' he added sternly in response to the protest by one of the beaters. Fulton puckered his lips into a frown and, disgruntled, climbed his broom and kicked off the ground with everyone else. Since the sky was clear, Daniel thought it was a good idea to let the Snitch out, although James could spot the Snitch in a pitch-black night he didn't want to take any chances for losing it. James circled the pitch high above trying to catch a sight of the tiny golden ball. Five minutes hadn't gone by when James went into a burst of speed and raced the snitch across the pitch and it was only a matter of seconds before he caught it. Everyone whooped and clapped, Daniel beaming proudly.

'Potter, if you keep giving us such good performance we might just end up being dependent on you' said Edwin good-naturedly.

'That's not a problem!' James winked as he touched the ground amongst cheers from his teammates.

Practice went on for an hour as Daniel had said; James kept on giving extraordinary performance and caught the snitch on every five minutes. Sirius was giving a wonderful performance on his side. Not one Quaffle had passed through his side of hoops. James looked around to see Sirius make another spectacular save. He gave the snitch a few minutes head start then raced after it. He spotted it in a matter of seconds. He burst into speed and raced towards it, he reached out his hand to close in the snitch... someone beat him to it. Another hand stretched out towards the miniscule ball and clenched it tightly, a long mane of red hair was visible as the person touched back down to the ground and waved at him. James's expression was that of mingled shock and bliss. He landed down neatly and got off his broomstick.

'Lily!' he cried out, advancing towards the new entry.

'Hey' she said, giving him a quick hug. 'How are you?' she asked, a pleasant smile playing on her pretty face.

'You never told me... Quidditch?' cried James, utterly perplexed.

'I just play it sometimes...not too good at it' said Lily modestly.

'Lily! I was searching for you all over the school!' Jennifer came hurrying out on the pitch to Lily. Lily grimaced, 'I had to meet Jenny at this time, I'm so sorry I have to go! Nice seeing you again. I'll meet you back in the common room' she said and hurried off, shouldering her broomstick.

James stared after her; mouth hung open and snitch struggling in his hand (Lily had handed it to him when she went).

'Whoa!' said a clearly impressed Sirius, touching down beside James, his dark hair ruffled in a way to make any girl drool. 'What a girl!' he articulated staring at Lily's retreating back as she made her way towards Gryffindor tower. 'First Dungbombs now Quidditch!' he added in a very impressed tone of voice. 'You are one lucky man!' he said as he thumped James's back. James silently nodded, too shocked to say anything. Lily truly was apart from every girl he had ever known.

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**There! How's that for a long chapter? Thank you Thankyou! But no encore!! ::bows:: So, get your reviews flowing in as quickly as possible!!!**


	10. Welcome back Lily!

**Hey people, I'm telling you one think before hand, this chapter is VERY small. And yeah... the usual: 'I-don't-own-all-of-this' crap**

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'...they finally allowed me to come then!' Lily chatted away with James. It was past 1 and they were still talking restlessly. 'They wanted me to stay longer, but I begged them to let me come. I made up this thing about a study group as well, so they finally gave in!' she chuckled. James laughed. 

'That's like my girl!' he cried, high five-ing her.

'How's your practice going anyway?' Lily asked after a while.

'Great!' he answered back truthfully.

'Good. Although, I still hope you've time to spare on li'l o me!' she said, smiling mischievously.

'Aww C'mon! Of Course I'll have time to spend with you! How can you say that?' he cried back. 'By the way' James started. 'Can I ask you something?'

Lily stared back at him. 'You didn't ask that before the millions of questions you just asked now!' she said.

'Yeah...well... this is different' he said honestly.

'Is it?' said Lily, her eyes as round as galleons. 'Let's hear it then' she said, abandoning her nail filer she had been using all this time and sitting up eagerly to listen to James. 'What made you accept my proposal this time?' James asked, straight-forwardly.

'Oh...' Lily said, in a disappointed tone as if she was expecting something far more interesting.

'Well?' James insisted after a while.

'I don't know' she said truthfully.

'Yeah right!' James said disbelievingly. 'How can you not know?'

'Seriously James, I seriously don't know why and how I accepted it this time. It's...weird' she said solemnly. 'I just couldn't do anything but accept it... something about you struck me that night. It made me realize that you weren't fooling around when you were asking me out, you were actually serious about it'

'Heck, yeah I was serious about it! Man... never knew you thought that way. Still, it's nice to know where I went wrong. You didn't like my popularity right?' he asked her.

'Yeah' Lily smiled. 'Very true, I never did like the popular kids around'

'Oh well' James shrugged. 'It's getting really late; I think we should get to bed'

Lily stared at him.

James looked back at her innocently, then comprehension dawning upon him, said:

'I meant... you go to _your_ bed, I go to _mine_! There were no strings attached!' he said defiantly.

Lily laughed. 'Yeah it really is getting too late. See you in the morning then' she said as she got up and headed for her dormitory. James, who was expecting a goodnight hug, stared at her retreating back in desire. Lily turned back and waved at him. Then at long last: She turned around and headed straight at him, grasping him in a passionate hug at first, until their lips were attracted to each other by an invisible hyper magnet ending in the most passionate kiss ever...

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**Okay, now I'm SOOO sorry for such a small chapter can you all please forgive me for that? ::looks around innocently:: I had LOADS of homework to do plus a stupid assignment about this newspaper we have to work on. I hate it! The best part so far is that I'm working with my crush over this project!! ::blushes:: **

**Review for the next chapter!**

**_P.S. To some of my reviewers:_**

**Diamond Sylvan:_ reviewing your story was a pleasure, hope you didn't mind the loooong review! As for some of my mistakes here and there... ah well, I'm human! Forgive me. And yeah, I keep forgetting to indent my dialogues, i'll keep it in mind next time. And... Lily was dressed up because it was a date, obviously! James, Sirius and the rest were dressed up in their best clothes too you know. And who said James is less of the two? He's as good as Sirius, just not that good-looking. Sorry if I am a bit biased but Sirius always seemed like the one with the drop-dead gorgeous looks. And await the next chapter, James is pretty cool! ;)_**

**_As for all my other reviwers, where are you guys?? _Lavender_ and _Mademoiselle_? I miss you guys!! Please review people. I love reading your reviews and throw in suggestions on how I can make my story better, ok?_**


	11. Gryffindor VS Slytherin

**Yo! How are you all out there? Hope well... now this is a nice, long chapter according to me, and I want nice, long and a lot many reviews for this one, OK? Love you all!! ;)**

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Perfect Quidditch conditions: Clear sky, not a cloud in sight and a warm sunny day. The Gryffindor Quidditch team filed out of their changing rooms after the mind-numbing pep talk by Daniel. James clearly hadn't listened to a thing he had said and his mind was still on the night Lily had kissed him... 

Sirius was playing Keeper as he turned out to be far better than the team's previous one. As it was his first match at such a level, he was pressurized and his hands kept getting all sweaty and clammy.

'I'm ok. I just need to focus' he kept chanting to himself. All the while getting more and more nervous and anxious.

'You're going to be A-ok!' James assured him as he clapped him on the back. They entered the Quidditch pitch amidst great cheers from the crimson and gold side of the crowd. This seemed to hearten Sirius up as he flashed his most gorgeous smile to the crowd. Loud sighs from the girls were heard followed by chants of: 'Siri-us! Siri-us! Whoo Whoo!'

James spotted Lily in the crowd with extreme ease as her flaming red hair were easily distinguishable in the mass of the usual browns and blacks. She was waving energetically to him. This gave him new heart and a raging new energy. It also made him more determined than ever to win this match no matter what. He waved back and sent her flying kisses. Lily laughed back and kept cheering the Gryffindor team. Hisses and boos came from the mass of green and silver but was soon drowned with fresh mantras of 'Go Sirius! Go Sirius!'

After the entry of the Gryffindor team, the Slytherin team line up arrived into the grounds. The captain of the Slytherin team, Ian Ulrich looked more menacing than ever. Madam Hooch, the Sports teacher appeared into the ground, the crate containing the Quaffle, the Bludgers and the tiny golden Snitch, tucked carefully under her arm. She ordered the captain of the two teams to shake hands after the usual dire warnings of a 'nice, clean game' that always came before the match. Ulrich approached Daniel with an evil sneer plastered onto his face. Daniel forced a tight smile but shook hands anyway. Both of them withdrew quickly as if they would catch some disease if they didn't.

At Madam Hooch's whistle, which marked the start of the match, fourteen players shot upwards into the air surrounded by fresh cheers from the enthusiastic crowd. James flew off higher than anyone else and circled around the pitch trying to catch a glimpse of the tiny golden Snitch. The game went wild from the start: the chasers were playing as fast as ever and in the first fifteen minutes, Gryffindor had scored three goals. Sirius was playing marvelously as he saved the most difficult goals with immense ease and flew like he was born on a broomstick. James cheered Sirius on all the while. He circled the pitch again and again... he couldn't see it anywhere, on the other side of the Quidditch ground, the Slytherin seeker, Greg Walters was doing the same thing...

It was obvious that Gryffindor would win until the Slytherin beater, Charles Lloyd deliberately hit Sirius hard on the head. Madam Hooch was abashed at such a behavior from her student and gave two penalties to Gryffindor as Sirius's situation looked extremely bad. Daniel called time out and the whole team rushed to see Sirius. James was so angry he felt like smashing Lloyd's head! Sirius's face was all bloody and it seemed the bat had made contact with his face rather than his head. His nose seemed to be broken and he was unconscious. Madam Hooch led him to Madam Pomfrey, refusing to let anyone else take him. As Sirius himself was a replace keeper Daniel Thompson didn't know what to do or who to call. He called everyone round to discuss who they could have as keeper now that Sirius had been badly injured. No one knew what to do... until James had an idea.

He looked up into the stands where he could easily spot Lily, her red hair flitting in the wind and her hand clapped over her mouth. She looked horrified, she gave James a questioning look which he surprisingly returned with a smile. He went over to Daniel and whispered something in his ear. A minute later the game was resumed. Lily was playing keeper instead of Sirius and was looking determinedly serious. Daniel took the first penalty and scored. Fulton took the next penalty and... missed. There was a loud 'Oooooooh' from the Gryffindors and fresh cheers from the Slytherins. In all of the confusion James couldn't focus his mind on finding the Snitch. After the first foul by Slytherin, the game turned out to be the dirtiest and the foulest Hogwarts had ever seen. Lily was no match for the big and burly Slytherin chasers and she let in a few goals. However, when the Gryffindors cheered her one, she managed to do a bit better. Just when Lily saved a goal, James thought he saw a tiny glimpse of the Snitch near the Slytherin end of the pitch. The problem was, it was much nearer to Walters than it was to James, so there was only one thing left to do... faking.

James sped quite opposite to where the Snitch was and it worked, Walters, who wasn't a very good seeker himself (but the best Slytherin had) followed James believing he had seen the Snitch there somewhere. James pelted down until he swerved right and headed straight towards the Slytherin end of the pitch. The whole crowd gasped as James urged his Comet to go on. The Slytherin seeker realizing his stupidity followed James. But too late, James hand had already grasped the tiny fluttering ball and he was shooting upwards, clutching the struggling ball in his hand, beaming at the crowd. The crowd, which had been holding its breath for the past few minutes cheered like anything. The whole stadium erupted with fresh cheers and celebration from the Gryffindor side.

James finally touched down and the whole team came up to greet him. He was hugged a number of times before the whole team along with the many other Gryffindors hoisted James upon their shoulders and chanting 'Go Go Gryffindor! Go Go Gryffindor!' cheered and celebrated. James was beside himself with glee. He glanced around and finally saw Lily, standing there smiling at him, the most wonderful smile he had ever seen...

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**Okay, now you all may be thinking that 'OMG! Lily can do everything!' but the thing is, Lily has to be able to play Quidditch... because it's required in later chapters!**

_**Now... for the reviewers...**_

**Padfootsluvr: > _muah> new reviewer, keep reviewing and I promise I'll keep the chapters coming as soon as I can, watch out! Coz soon enough, the story is about to get a little twist!_**

**Lavender Mansworth: _Love you forever! You're my regular reviewer, you deserve some sort of an award! It's ok if your review is late, at least you did review! Sorry about the 'Lily can do everything part' see, I really need to have it there because there's stuff concerning it in the later chapters, so you'll have to put up with it, OK? Thanks a lot!_**


	12. Keeper Search

**Hey everyone! I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted for my previous chapter, so I'm a bit down, but here's the next chapter for those of you who are actually reading my story… thanks guys you mean a lot to me! Oh and this chapter has been written for quite some time now. I just couldn't post it in due to some error or overload on the Fanfiction server! Sorry…**

'Is he ok?'

'I guess so. Madam Pomfrey hasn't ever failed before!'

'Yeah, you're right… but, will he be able to breathe properly through that heavily bandaged nose?'

'I don't think so…'

'I'll breathe through my mouth, then!' said Sirius brightly as he opened his eyes and sat up.

'Sirius!' Lily screamed as she hugged him.

'Padfoot… at last!' James cried, hugging Sirius too.

'How are you? The whole team was here to see you, they just left. And… look, you've got loads of presents!' Lily pointed out as she motioned towards the large heap of presents settled over the side-table, which had been magically expanded due to the fact that the large number of presents couldn't fit on its original size.

'Wow! I won't have to take a trip to Hogsmeade after all!' he cried, eyeing his heap of presents happily.

'Yeah' said James, who seemed unusually quiet. 'And you can lend _me_ some as well!'

'Sure' Sirius replied. 'So, the whole team was here to see me?'

'Yeah' said Lily abruptly.

'Well, why didn't you just wake me up?' he asked.

'Do we look like idiots? You think we'd get into trouble with Madam Pomfrey just because the whole team was here to see you? I don't think so!' said James. Lily giggled.

Sirius simply laughed, earning himself a severe pain in his nose.

'Potter! Evans! I was busy with the headmaster, he wanted to see me, that doesn't mean you can disturb my patients! You've had over fifteen minutes by now, OUT OUT!' she cried as she bustled over to Sirius's bed, forcing him to lie down as he retorted back that he wanted to be up and was tired out of lying all the time.

'Come on, drink up' Madam Pomfrey said as she forced down some reddish-orange liquid down Sirius's throat. 'This will make the pain go away, come now, lie down! That's right… good boy!' she said rather sternly than she meant to and finally Sirius lay back down in bed and looked longingly at James and Lily as they waved him cheery goodbyes, promising to come back soon.

Sirius's condition was pretty bad and Daniel was very much worried about him. The match against Durmstrang was drawing close and Sirius had just gotten a bit better.

'But can't you do something that'll you know, perk him up and make him all right in a jiffy?' Daniel asked Madam Pomfrey one day as they were having daily Quidditch practices and Sirius couldn't come to any of them. When the bat had made contact with his face it had somehow affected his brain as well, which if not given proper care could turn into something very serious and nasty.

'Only, we have this big Quidditch match coming up against Durmstrang, obviously you may already know about it and we can't aff –' he babbled away.

'Mr. Thompson! Don't you have any idea how serious Mr. Black's condition is? All you want is to win the match, you don't care whether Mr. Black will live after he's helped you win this match, do you? I am ashamed at such inhumane thoughts of yours! This is very bad, I will speak to the Headmaster himself about this. I will not let Black play this match, his condition doesn't allow him to! He has to take proper bed rest for a week before he is able to get up again!' Madam Pomfrey shrieked back.

'Hogwarts will lose the match!' Daniel persisted.

'I do not care! If it means putting a student's life in danger, I don't give a DAMN you hear me?' she cried back surprising Daniel more than ever, she used the word 'damn'?

'You students do not listen to me unless I speak in your own slang language!' she said defensively as Daniel Thompson stared at her.

'Sorry' said Daniel and he then said no more. The whole team was on constant lookout for a new keeper. Although Lily had been okay, she had let in a lot of very easy goals. They wanted someone strong and sturdy who could face the Durmstrang team because Daniel had once met them and according to him they were a 'nasty lot'. James was getting more and more anxious by the day. First of all, his best friend was in a bad condition, he may be out of danger but he still couldn't exactly talk to him and this made him more gloomy than anything else. He just wanted Sirius back, if not as a keeper on the Gryffindor team, as his best friend at least!

**So… how did you like that? Review and tell me how you like this story and tell me how I can make it better! I will be needing your help and suggestions all the way. **

**Padfootluvr: You _don't_ like the idea of a twist? Why not? It's gonna be major!!**

**Lavender: thanks for all your reviews up till now. **

**Where are the other people? Where are you guys, man? I need you here… keep reviewing and I promise I'll update asap.**


	13. The Conspiracy

**Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

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'Let's just hope for the best, there's nothing else we can do!' said Lily pressing hard on James's hand as she tried to comfort him. He was extremely worried about what would happen to his best friend and what would happen to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The keeper Sirius had replaced was still on leave and was said to be very sick.

'Yeah… there really is nothing else that we can do!' James agreed as he ran his fingers through his already untidy hair in frustration.

'I don't know what's going to happen now, we still can't find a good enough keeper! Lloyd should've gotten like a life-time ban on Quidditch or something!' said Selina George. She was one of the beaters of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Selina was the only girl beater in the whole school and was pretty good at the sport. Her shots were amazing and her skill with the small beater's bat was outstanding. 'Instead he just gets detention for a week! No fair' she said, folding her arms and leaning against the Gryffindor common room, where James and Lily were having their conversation.

'Yeah…' said Lily, but then said no more.

Selina was an attractive, svelte girl and that was saying something, as the girls who usually played Quidditch were sort of manly and muscular. Selina was quite the opposite and a stranger couldn't have guessed by looking at her, that she was the best beater at school. Slim and slender, she just oozed feminity. She was rough and tough, very sporty and hated the fact that she wasn't tom-boyish. Wrist bands, and bandanas were Selina's style. However, her features were quite plain, but were mostly made prominent by her style and the way she carried herself.

'Shhh! Just don't make too much of noise, this cloak doesn't prevent us from being heard! Just tip it in, it shouldn't take that much time!! What are you doing?!?!?!' Ian Ulrich, the Slytherin captain whispered to Charles Lloyd, the beater.

Lloyd was crouched next to Sirius's bed in the hospital wing and couldn't be seen due to the fact that he was under the Invisibility Cloak. He had a tiny vile in his hand with a purplish-pink solution in it, which he was tipping into Sirius's medicine. The same orange-red medicine that was always placed on his bedside table so that if he ever experienced pain, the potion would be in his reach.

'Done!' said Lloyd as he tipped the bottle carefully in the potion so that it doesn't slop down and make it suspicious.

Lloyd and Ulrich then wrapped themselves in Ulrich's Invisibility Cloak and quickly sneaked out of the hospital wing, careful not to make any noise and attract attention to themselves.

'Yes!' said Ulrich as he came into the Slytherin common room and high-fived Lloyd.

'Now he'll never get better by the time of the big match! If the Slytherin team isn't winning against Durmstrang, no one is!!' said Ulrich as he contorted his face in a menacing frown, fists clenched tightly.

'That is the Breakdown Potion, right?' said Ulrich as he turned again to face Lloyd. 'Yeah' said Lloyd, examining the vile in his hand.

'Great! It opens up the wounds again and again and doesn't let them heal. Cool…' said Ulrich as he turned away happily and went into his dormitory, the Invisibility Cloak tucked under his arm.

Lloyd too, turned away and headed towards his own dormitory, happy that he had finally pleased Ulrich… which was quite impossible as Ulrich was never happy with practically anything!

'Don't you think we should go and see how Sirius is doing?' Lily suggested as James was sitting down, discussing Quidditch statistics with Daniel Thompson. It was pretty obvious that James wasn't taking in one word Daniel Thompson was trying to tell him. The whole team was gathered around a table except Sirius of course, who was still in the hospital.

'Yeah, I really think we should!' said James abruptly in response to Lily's offer. She smiled sympathetically at him and got up.

'Let's go' she said and held out an arm.

'Let's all go!' said Paul Stately who was the other beater on the team, standing up.

Daniel sighed heavily and got up, leaving his charts and notes laying on the table.

'Ok!' he agreed, motioning to everyone to come along.

The whole team got up, relieved to get away from their boring Quidditch moves and statistics. Daniel had a way to turn even the most interesting thing into a complete mind-numbing one.

Sirius was sitting up and looked around brightly at all of them as they entered. James was happy to hear Madam Pomfrey proudly exclaiming that Sirius was surely making a speedy recovery. Lily squeezed James hand in joy and hugged Sirius hard. She had grown so frank with all of James's acquaintances that she was almost part of them. Remus and Peter had also accompanied the Gryffindor Quidditch Team down to the hospital wing. As a celebration of Sirius's quickening recovery she let everyone have extra time and wasn't shrieking around as usual.

Daniel Thompson was so happy, his eyes sparkled with glee and he clapped Sirius proudly on the back.

'We need you' said Daniel as he referred to the whole team as well as himself.

'Yeah' said Selina. She came forwards and kissed Sirius on the cheek for no specific reason. Sirius flushed red. Selina was looking quite striking today. She was wearing a strappy black top and baggy jeans which were tight at the waist. Quite like a diva…

'You get better soon, okay?' she said, smiling her best smile. Sirius simply nodded. He said little and didn't really act like himself. When they asked Madam Pomfrey why that might be, she reckoned it was a side effect of the medicines Sirius was taking. This relieved them of any worries that they had.

James was extremely happy and eyed with Sirius with new value and regard. He so wanted him back… he was missing his usually loud and funny one-liners and his witty pranks. He wished his best friend would just get well as soon as possible. Obviously they needed him as keeper as well, but James wanted his simple presence more than his presence as a keeper.

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**So… that's that! Review for the next chapter!**

**PS. If any of you like Dr/Hr pairing, I have a one-shot fic that I recently put up, tell me how it is, 'cause I enjoy writing one-shots and I need to know whether I'm good at them or not! Thanks a bunch Padfootsluvr for reviewing it!! **


	14. One man's triumph is another's sorrow

**I know this is extremely small, but watch out for a gigantic chapter next time. I promise!**

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'I don't believe it! It's impossible, how can that happen? OMG! I hope I'm not dreaming…' cried Lily as James told her the good news.

'It _was_ quite impossible, I know! But… the thing is, it _has_ happened!' James replied as Lily jumped with joy around the common room.

'Let's go' she said and dragged James to the portrait hole.

It was 11 o clock and most of the students were fast asleep. Lily was always the one to wake up first. Remarkably, James had woken up quite early today as well. Lily and James made their way around the huge castle of Hogwarts, with Lily in the lead.

Lily let out a shriek of delight when she saw him. Standing upright, perfectly cured, fixing his hair in front of a mirror, was none other than Sirius Black.

Sirius turned around and flashed James and Lily a smile. Lily ran up and hugged him.

'How?' she muttered

'I dunno!' said Sirius shrugging his shoulders and doing 'the-best-friend-handshake' with James. 'The funny thing is, not even Madam Pomfrey knows how I got better this quickly. Weird isn't it?' he said.

'She doesn't know?' James repeated. 'Wow'. Sirius had finally made his spectacular recovery, and James was ecstatic. However, he couldn't help but notice that Sirius wasn't himself. He satisfied himself by saying that it must've been an after effect of the illness.

'I must be dreaming!' came a voice. Sirius, James and Lily turned around to find Daniel Thompson along with the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team.

'That's the best part! You're not dreaming!' said James.

'Wow' said Selina as she came forwards, gaping at Sirius. 'How?' she murmured

'Miracles happen you know?' said Sirius as he ran his hand through his hair settling them in a perfectly wind-swept manner.

The whole team cheered as their spirits soared. They wouldn't have to lose their match against Durmstrang or lose their absolutely perfect keeper.

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'HOW? HOW IN THE WORLD DID IT HAPPEN?' Ulrich screamed at Charles Lloyd in the Slytherin common room after they got news that the Gryffindor keeper, the one and only Sirius Black had gotten well and was playing better than ever as a keeper.

'I-I d-don't know!' Lloyd stammered as he cowered under Ulrich's rage.

'YOU DON'T KNOW? HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW? YOU WERE THE ONE WHO GOT THE POTION! HOW DID IT CURE BLACK INSTEAD OF EXACERBATING HIM? AND BEFORE TIME TOO!' Ulrich bellowed.

'I h-have n-no idea!' Lloyd managed to say.

Ulrich turned around, towards Lloyd. He knew he shouldn't have trusted Lloyd with something such as this. He was too irresponsible and too… stupid! He was fuming, he had never wanted anything more than he wanted to damage Black. Now there was no way they could harm him. They had lost their golden chance. One thing was unsolved… how in the world did their Breakdown Potion cure him? He didn't know…

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**There… see? I cured Padfoot! Let's celebrate! Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys give me new heart, you're the best! Keep reviewing!!**

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**Brooklyn girl: thanks a bunch for your review. Glad to see someone likes my story!**

**Padfootsluvr: yes he did! He did drink it…!! Thanks for your review!**

**LavenderMansworth: Thanks for your review! You don't have time nowadays either? Nor do I! I hardly had any time to write whole week!!**


	15. Confronting the Enemy

**I hope this is a bit longer than before! Thanks to everyone who's reading this!**

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'Excellent! I have never seen anyone keep that well!' Daniel beamed at Sirius as they touched down to the ground after a successful practice session. Sirius was playing absolutely perfectly and the chasers hadn't been able to goal at all. James was seeking fantastically as well. Sirius's recovery had seemed to give him new heart and new spirit. He caught the snitch in a matter of seconds. This time, Daniel was sure they would win their match against Durmstrang. Sirius beamed back at Daniel.

'And James… you're the man! You're the one who should be winning this match for us, OK?' Daniel said to James, clapping him appreciatively on his back.

'Sure thing _boss_'said James playfully.

'Right then! To the changing rooms, end of practice!' Daniel exclaimed and lead the way to the changing rooms.

'Great session mate!' said James as he walked over to Sirius who was bent over, tying his shoelaces.

'Thanks!' said Sirius as he finally stood up.

'You can't believe how glad I am to have you back!' said James as the two friends walked over to the changing rooms.

'You can't believe how glad _I_ am to _be_ back' replied Sirius good-naturedly.

'If we play like this against Durmstrang, there's no way we can lose!' James declared.

'Yup!' cried Sirius as he changed into his normal clothes and out of his heavy Quidditch robes.

'I waited so long last night, where were you?' asked Lily the next morning at breakfast.

'I… well, I just came in late!' lied James. Truth was, James, Sirius were formulating a plan against Snape again… as always! But of course Lily didn't know this. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter had then sneaked into the Slytherin common room and finally put their plan into action. They had poured a Drying Potion into Snape's hair products. That way, whenever he oiled or gelled his hair, they would dry up and stand at end. This potion really wasn't meant to have such drastic effect, but as always, the famous four had altered some ingredients for it to act that way. It also caused a lot of dandruff to settle in Snape's hair, so it would shed anywhere he went.

'You should've told me you were to come late' Lily retorted. 'I would've at least gotten some sleep!' she said. James chose not to reply.

Sirius arrived at that exact moment. 'Yo!' he cried as he came over to James and Lily and sat opposite them.

'Hey' said Lily, with a bit more happiness in her tone than when she had talked to James. She was very cross with him. He had given her less and less time by the day as the Durmstrang match drew to a close. It was now only three days away.

'How're you today m'lady?' asked Sirius.

Lily giggled. 'Very well, Sir!' she acted back. Sirius simply laughed and raised his eyebrows at James.

'What's up with him?' he asked.

'I suggest you ask him yourself!' Lily replied stiffly.

'_Nothing's_ up with me!' cried James defensively.

'Oh?' Sirius said, raising his eyebrows. 'You can tell me all about it later' he mouthed at James. James smiled and nodded. Fortunately, Lily was busy eating her breakfast and didn't look at what was happening. Sirius winked.

'The Durmstrang Team is arriving tomorrow' Daniel Thompson announced as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast. The Gryffindors cheered.

'Bring 'em on!' James cried.

'I want you all to be ready! They can try to sabotage our players, give them NO chance!' Daniel cautioned.

'C'mon Danny! We can handle them!' Sirius cried enthusiastically.

'Don't become over-confident. It's the one thing that is bound to make us lose this match' Daniel went on frowning at Sirius who completely ignored this little warning.

The very next day which was a Friday, the Great Hall was filled with students. The castle of Hogwarts had been given an extra cleaning round and now gleamed perfectly. Peeves was warned and threatened till he shut himself up in one of the unused classrooms on the top floor. The metal suits of armors were oiled and now made no noise when they walked. The gate of the castle was polished till it shone and had a brand new golden knocker at the front. A good impression had lasting effect.

Dumbledore stood up. 'In a few moments, we will have the honor of welcoming the Durmstrang Quidditch team along with their headmaster of course' he informed his students.

'Honor… yeah right!' Sirius scoffed, earning a severe stare from Daniel.

The whole Hall waited for their guests. Five…ten…fifteen minutes passed by and there was no sign of the Durmstrang team.

'There's something known as etiquettes! And that includes being on time when you're going somewhere!' said Selina George impatiently as she checked her watch for the umpteenth time.

'I so agree with you' James said wearily.

Sirius yawned hugely.

'And… I dare say, is that the sound of arrival?' Dumbledore called out. The students turned towards the open doors of the castle. There was a bubbling sound from the lake and a whirlpool occurred right there and then… as if someone had taken out the plug at the bottom of the lake.

A black-blue ship that had an evil sort of air to it, emerged from the water and came up to the surface. The door of the ship opened and a man who seemed to be in his 60s came out. He was plump and had a thick neck. He was wearing clothes that seemed to made out of the most expensive fur and the most exquisite leopard skin. the few strands of hair that decorated his shiny scalp were combed back. He had small, shiny eyes that glinted in the dark.

'Ah! Mr. Hemphord!' cried Dumbledore and started to clap. 'Durmstrang's headmaster!' he informed the students. The students joined in with the applause as the plump figure of Mr. Hemphord made its way into the Great Hall. Followed by Mr. Hemphord was none other than the Durmstrang Quidditch team. Everyone on their team was huge and massive. They too, had fur coats on of a royal-blue color. Big and burly, the Gryffindor team seemed like a joke next to them. However, Sirius simply scoffed them off and made fun of them in whispers to James, Remus and Peter.

'Welcome! Welcome!' Dumbledore cried amidst the applause by his students.

'Thank You, Dumbledore!' Mr. Hemphord said, smiling. 'And Thank _you_ dear students!' he said referring to all the students filled in the Great Hall. The crowd applauded again.

'It's not everyday you get a welcome like this one! Extraordinary!' he said appreciatively. 'May I present to you, _my_ own students' he said motioning his team to come forwards. The Durmstrang team marched forwards.

'Gits' Sirius muttered.

'Pleased to meet you all' Dumbledore said politely. 'You may be seated in any one of the four House tables over here' he motioned towards the four, long tables. The Durmstrang team lingered awkwardly for a moment then went and sat down at the Hufflepuff table.

'I told you they were total gits! Hufflepuff, I ask you…' said Sirius joyfully as the Durmstrang team took their places in between Hufflepuff students. They removed their heavy fur coats and were found to be wearing a handsome grey uniform inside. Mr. Hemphord took his place next to Dumbledore and engaged him into conversation.

After a while, Dumbledore spoke up:

'Now that we are all settled, let the feast begin!' he cried and no sooner had the words come out of his mouth when food magically appeared in the golden plates and goblets that glinted marvelously in the light of the chandeliers that had been put up in honor of the guests.

The Durmstrang students seemed quite impressed by the food that was served and pointed excitedly at the golden plates and the glossy goblets. Dumbledore remained engaged in conversation with Mr. Hemphord and the rest of the Hall ate their way through three delicious courses. The house elves had certainly out done themselves.

'That wasn't so bad' said Paul Stately, the other beater (alongside Selina) on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. 'I thought their arrival would be… sort of gaudy' he admitted.

'Yeah' agreed Edwin Poirier.

'That's the team captain and one of the beaters from their team' Daniel Thompson whispered to his team indicating at the hugest team member from the Durmstrang team. 'Woah!' said Sirius, his brow furrowing. 'He's… enormous!' he cried.

'Yeah!' said James, looking a bit worried. 'He may not even need the beater's bat! He can simply swing his arm at it!' he added.

'I told you… their team is not a joke! No matter how good we may be, we can never be too confident. There's always room for improvement' Daniel kept reminding his team.

'That one on the left, with that spiky haircut…? That one' Lily was whispering to her friend Jennifer Fanning.

'What about 'em?' asked James abruptly, across the table.

Lily glared at James for a moment, then said: 'He's kind of cute'

James narrowed his eyes at her. Surprisingly, she smiled and mouthed 'You're cuter!' her anger towards James vanishing in a moment. James flushed red.

'That one is the seeker, James' Daniel pointed out, indicating to the same person Lily was pointing at.

'Oh' said James, his jaw clenching. He was so going to win now!!

**Heck! it's not only 'a bit longer' it's 3 pages! My average is about 1 ½ page or something! WoW!! Anyways, my reviewers:**

**Padfootsluvr: **_Thanks again for your review! If it weren't for you guys reviewing my story, I would've been really hurt! Thanks a lot!!_

**LavenderMansworth: **_buddy! What's up? Hehe… you've got some great possibilities there, it'll be quite long before you find out what really happened! So… yeah! You'll have to keep on reading!_


	16. Prematch Festivities

**Hey there everyone! Please review my story if you're reading it! It helps me correct my errors. And people who are reading it and not reviewing it… I accept anonymous reviews! You don't have to have an account here! You know who you are… Hope you liked the previous chapter… Enjoy the next one:**

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Early the next morning, orders came from Dumbledore down to the Gryffindor tower that the Gryffindor team was to change into their Quidditch robes and wait in their common room until further orders. Undoubtedly, Dumbledore wanted to make a good impression on the Durmstrang students. The two teams were surely going to be introduced to one another today! 

'Yesterday wasn't so bad after all, huh?' said Lily as she came down to the common room, after she'd been there to get a catcher for her ponytail. 'So, you think you'll be able to beat them then?' she asked James, who was sitting on one of the couches and was looking at some statistics charts Daniel made. He didn't reply. 'Wanna come for a Hogsmeade trip? Me and Jennifer already decided we'll be going… today, hopefully!' she said.

'Oh! No, I'm sorry! I won't be able to; you know the big match is coming up! I can't go around traipsing all over Hogsmeade when I should be practicing for Quidditch. This is going to be the school's victory, not just Gryffindors!' James replied. His tone didn't seem at all grieved or at least sorry for the fact that he had to turn down Lily's offer. This seemed to piss Lily off…

Just then, an official letter on the bulletin board caught Lily's eye. She went over and read the note from Dumbledore.

'Hmph!' Lily said as she read the note. 'So you can't come down to breakfast with me either!' she said to James, handing him the note.

'Daniel told me about that one!' said James, looking carelessly at the note Lily had handed him. He tossed it aside and looked up to see Lily fuming. He then realized he certainly had done a dumb move.

'Look, Lily! It's just… it's not really my fault, see? I don't want to change into my stupid Quidditch uniform early in the morning! And do you really think I'd wait here for _'further orders'_ instead of coming down to breakfast with you?' James apologized.

'I think you ought to wake your mates up now! Otherwise, you're going to be late for showing off your skills!' Lily retorted as she flung her hair over her shoulder and stomped out of the Gryffindor tower followed by some other girls.

James sighed heavily and hung his head. He always messed up! He didn't know where he had gone wrong and was completely bewildered why Lily had acted so rudely. He shrugged and set aside those thoughts as he went up to his own dormitory, deciding to wake up Sirius, as Lily had rightly suggested.

'Oy, Padfoot!' James called out as he reached Sirius's four-poster and flung the curtains aside. 'Wake up… now!' he cried loudly as he yawned and went over to the window, pulling aside the curtains. Bright sunlight poured in through the curtains and flooded the fifth year dorm. Sirius grumbled something angrily in his sleep, briefly shielded his eyes against the gilt rays of the brilliant sun, buried his head underneath his fluffy pillow and went to sleep again.

James came forwards and snatched Sirius's quilt from him… to no avail. He then forced the pillow out of Sirius's reach until Sirius got fed up and sat up, disgruntled.

'Wassamatter?' he grumbled angrily at James, rubbing his eyes at the same time.

'You need to get up now! Enough of your beauty sleep. Orders from Dumbledore, we need to be ready in an hour or half or so… in our Quidditch robes. We're probably going to be introduced to the Durmstrang blokes' James informed Sirius as he threw down Sirius's quilt and pillow. 'Now please get up! I have more important stuff to do than standing around here trying to wake up Mr. Sleepy head here!' he said as he exited the door, leaving behind an angry and irritated Sirius Black.

Sirius's hair were a mess and his pajamas were in a right state. Shoddy and sloppy, Sirius dejectedly got up from his bed and headed towards the washrooms. This was a state of the famous Sirius Black, only few had seen. It certainly was a condition of Sirius that he surely didn't want the girls to see!

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'Alright, everyone! Ready?' Daniel asked his teammates as they came one by one into the common room. 

'All of us want to make a good impression on the Durmstrang team, right?' he said aggressively.

'Right' everyone droned back.

'Dumbledore will send message and inform us when we should go downstairs. McGonagall is probably going to come up and check whether everything's right. I think we're going to go down in the ground and take part in the traditional ceremony of –'

'Ceremony?' Sirius blurted out. 'What ceremony? I don't know about any ceremony, no one told me! How does it go about? What do we hav –'

'Sirius! Calm down. It's a traditional ceremony that takes place whenever two of the best schools are competing. And… it didn't take place all these previous years that matches were held because although Hogwarts is one of the best Wizarding institute, the ones we were competing against never were! Durmstrang and Hogwarts are both amazingly and equally great schools' Daniel informed his teammates. This earned a lot of 'Oooohs' and 'Aaaahs'

'So… what do we have to do in the ceremony?' asked James curiously. He was still bummed out about Lily being angry with him and wished he could set her mood right again. He just didn't feel good when she was pissed off at him.

'You don't have to do anything!' said Daniel. 'The ceremony includes the performance from the cheerleaders of both teams. I must assure you, our cheerleaders are better than all others! So… after that, we sing our school song. And… obviously, the Durmstrang lot will sing theirs. We'll remain seated in our seats which will be specially arranged. We then have to get up and have ourselves recognized. As far as I know, as one of us get up, our image is magically magnified and shown to the crowd. Our name appears right beneath it along with the comments of teachers and headmasters about us!' he said happily.

'Really?' said Fulton. 'Cool!'

'Yeah! Amazing! Though I do hope Professor Kinabolt's comment for me isn't displayed!' said Sirius.

'Right, so you won't exactly have to do anything!' said Daniel. 'We'll get Dumbledore's message any minute now!'

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**Okay, so how did you like that? It's not all sunshine and daisies after all, now is it? Review for the next chapter!! I know this is smaller than the last one, but you can't expect 3 page chapters every time, ya know! At least not from me… maybe next time though, I may just be a tad bit more generous. **

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**My reviewers! How I love you guys…**

**Padfootsluvr: **_Yo! How's it going? Hope fine, and I hope you're right when you say other people are reading my story but just aren't reviewing it! Thanks for your review yet again, keep reviewing, I need reviewers like you over here! You Go Girl! Lov ya!_

**Someone: **_Hope you like it when you read the rest of it, thanks a bunch for the review!!_

**Magicians of the Yami: **_Hey! You reviewed my other story too, right? Coolio! Keep reading, I update both my stories at the same time, btw. Just so you know. Oh and another thing, how about reviewing 'The Zenith' it's a one-shot by moi! My first one that is, review and tell me how you like it!_

**LavenderMansworth: **_Buddy, Pal, how are you? Thanks yet again for your review! Sorry, but you will have to wait you know! Hope you liked this chapter… Keep reading … and reviewing! ;)_


	17. Joy followed by Grief

**ATTN to All Readers: I have my Mid-Years coming up (No, I don't get Christmas holidays) so I can't really come online to update or even write up new chapters, see? So… I'll be going on at least a 3-week break. See you guys later! And wish me luck for my exams!!**

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**Okay, Okay, I know this isn't much, but I seriously had no time to write. And I was also busy writing my other fic (Dr/Hr) which has been going quite well since it started. Anyways, enjoy this chapter:**

'And now for the Hogwarts Quidditch team!' Dumbledore announced.

A yellow-gold and red line marched forwards in front of the stage, facing the audience, which was seated on chairs that had been magicked into the air.

Daniel upfront, followed by the rest of the team, they came in front of the audience, bowed, then took their seats on top of the stage behind Dumbledore.

After both the teams from opposing teams had sang their school song, it was time for the main thing – when the players would get up and their teacher's would comment on them, this would be shown to practically all of the audience. The Hogwarts cheerleaders wore red and gold outfits with the Hogwarts crest in the middle. They cheered enthusiastically and the crowd went wild as the Hogwarts champions stood up, one by one and came at the front of the stage. The player's image was then magically magnified so that the whole crowd could see.

'Sirius Black!' Dumbledore announced.

Sirius came up front and gave the crowd his best smile. Loud sighs were heard, which mainly came from the female crowd. He winked mischievously just before the teachers' comments were displayed under his name and picture that was magnified.

'With a witty sense of humor and an extremely fun-loving personality, Sirius Black is like none other. A fantastic student, who may not study, but who always gets the top grades… in my class at least! With brains like his, he should've been a Ravenclaw. Hogwarts will be needing more like him.' – Professor Flitwick, Charms.

'Wow' thought Sirius. 'I didn't know he liked me that much!'

Flitwick's comment vanished but not before it had received a wild applause. These were replaced by none other than Professor McGonagall's:

'A brilliant student, no doubt. The one thing I advise him against is not to be too over-confident' – Professor Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration.

Sirius wrinkled his nose. 'What was it with her? He wasn't over-confident!' Just then he spotted Lily in the crowd. He waved at her frantically. She gave him a thumbs-up sign.

These comments were followed by many others, from mainly all the Professors. Professor Kinabolt went low with his comments, which was one thing Sirius highly appreciated. The crowd gave Sirius another round of enthusiastic applause before he was asked to resume his seating position.

'And now, lastly, but certainly not leastly… the one and only…' Dumbledore gave it a pause. The crowd listened intently.

'James!' came a chorus from the audience.

'Absolutely correct – the one and only James Potter!!' Dumbledore cried.

James grinned and got up from his seating position. He went forwards, took another gracious bow and watched as his comments were displayed:

'An excellent student, the best one in class in fact. This boy is extremely intellectual and has a knack for topping without even opening his book. What his weakness is – I do not know, for he is surely a fantabulous addition to my class. It's really good to have him in class!' – Professor Screpter, DADA.

The crowd applauded energetically. Lily hooted loudly and sent him flying kisses, which he returned graciously. He waved again at the crowd and watched as this comment was replaced by another one:

'Mischievousness describes him well, an intelligent student who is perhaps one of the best in my class can surely do better if he would just listen to the lecture instead of passing notes!' – Professor Kinabolt, Potions.

James bit his tongue. 'Damn' he thought. He didn't pass notes all the time! He just did it last class, and in the one before that and the one before that as well… and… oh OK!

These comments were also followed by loads of other long ones, especially McGonagall's. Even Dumbledore commented on James and his skills at particularly Quidditch. In soaring spirits, James went and sat down next to Sirius who gave him a Hi five and a one-armed hug.

The Durmstrang players also got up and the same thing happened with them as had happened with the Gryffindor Quidditch team players. Except for the fact that when their image was magnified, a blue and grey ribbon surrounded their picture unlike the Hogwart's players whose image was always bordered with red and gold stripes. The teachers comments on their side were pretty much the same thing for every player and Sirius kept assuring James that they had did it on purpose, just to make the players look good in front of everyone. At this, James aggressively replied that their teachers should've done the same with them as well.

'Chill!' Sirius spoke up after a while. 'It's ok!'

When all the players had been covered, the cheerleaders did their part. The Durmstrang cheerleaders were good, but Hogwarts' were better! The match was to start after both the Headmasters were done with their speech. Mr. Hemphord, the Durmstrang headmaster came up first. He was wearing grey and blue robes today that billowed in the light breeze. He cleared his throat importantly and started off with the speech. Although the composition of the speech itself was appraisable, the way Mr. Hemphord was delivering it made it seem phony and anyone could figure out that the Headmaster didn't exactly mean what he was saying. He was just saying it as a courtesy, an obligation. Along with flattering comments about Dumbledore, Hogwarts and the school system, he had obviously tried to butter Dumbledore up before the match. However, his speech didn't earn the applause he was expecting. The crowd clapped politely at some halts in his speech and that was all.

After Mr. Hemphord's boring and phony speech, Dumbledore came up. His eyes twinkling and his long, silver hair flowing. James quickly noticed that Dumbledore wasn't holding any paper, like Mr. Hemphord had.

'My dear students! We are gathered here in honor of the upcoming match between the Durmstrang and the Hogwarts Quidditch teams. These two schools are one of the best among all of Britain – that, no one can deny! However, instead of this being a rivalry competition, I would say it's more of a friendly one. Hogwarts hosts this competition in hope of strengthening the bond between these two schools. Where the Hogwarts Quidditch team is great, Durmstrang's is no less! But… if this competition can be done without having any kind of jealousy for the other, it would prove to be very successful. The Quidditch match that shall follow this ceremony, is just a game, a match and nothing else. It's not a matter of life and death, nor should it be played as a battle against the other. That is my request to all of you. Sportsmanship is what counts in this. Doesn't matter if you lose the game – what is the worst that can happen if you do? Nothing! So, it's my request to both of you teams and all the people out there, do not think that if a team has lost a match, it is degraded – no, this is not it. Being able to congratulate your opponent with heartfelt congratulations is sportsmanship. And that's just what counts. I hope you will cheer for which ever team plays best. And no, I won't say: 'May the best team wins' because Winning is not a test of Greatness. Thank You!' Dumbledore stepped off the podium amidst great applause from his audience.

'See, Thompson? It doesn't really matter if we lose!' said Anthony Fulton, a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Daniel glared at him. 'That doesn't mean that we should stop trying. Don't take it to your heart, we still have to win!' he said aggressively.

'The match will start after an hour, both the teams are allowed to leave. This time is vital for any discussion you may want to do with your team and any moves that you need to practice. Thank You!' Professor Minerva McGonagall spoke into the microphone before retiring to her seat once again.

The audience was starting to get up and leave the stadium until the match started. But… just then… a sudden clap of thunder caught everyone's attention. Looking up into the sky, James moaned as tiny little drops of water came rushing down and pelting the creation under them.

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**Dum di Dum dum… lots to happen next chapter, which will be updated after about a 3-week wait, as mentioned before. You never know though, I may put it up earlier than that! So… whatever, hope you liked this chapter, review in and tell me how you like it, ok? Oh that reminds me:**

**Padfoot's-Luvr: **_Hey there! You're a regular reviewer now, eh? Cool! Thanks for the review. I know I didn't put in much in this match. It's coming up after a 3 week wait, I promise! Keep reading, Ciao!_

**Magicians of the Yami: **_Thanks for the review, you should get some kind of an award, you reviewed each one of my stories! Thank you so much, I love you! Keep reviewing. I know this isn't much. _

**Lavender Mansworth: **_Hey there! What's up? Yeah, Hogwarts has cheerleaders, and no, I didn't mention them before. I just put them in to add something to the story. I have a good chapter planned after my exams, buh-bye till then!!_


	18. The Misunderstanding

**I'm sorry, I think this is kinda late. But… I have my reasons! See, first of all, my mid years were kinda delayed a bit and they took later than I thought they would. Then when I was done with my exam-o s my computer went bonkers. Sorry for the long wait. And I couldn't write much either! :'( I'm sorry, I'll get writing pretty soon I promise!**

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The jubilant rays of the ever-so-brilliant sun were suddenly dampened by the arrival of heavy rain. The bright yellow-gold sky turned into a murky grey with an alarming abruptness. The heavy downpour hadn't even given a warning as usual, with a slight drizzling – instead it had just started off with heavy raindrops slish-sloshing down exceptionally swiftly. 

Since the area where the audience wasn't covered, unlike the area where the players and the teachers were seated, panic rose in the audience. Dumbledore, taking immediate action, stood up and went over to the end of the stage. Waving his wand he produced a coverage for the audience in an instant. Then he went over to the podium and spoke clearly into the microphone:

'Please calm down. It's just a little downpour! Seems like someone up there (he motioned upwards to the sky) doesn't want us to play the match today'

The audience that had settled down when Dumbledore had started speaking now groaned in unison.

'I know, I know! We all wanted to see the match being played today, but taking certain circumstances into consideration, we will have to postpone the match until conditions are better than… this' he said despairingly. 'I think Mr. Hemphord will agree with me when I say that it is not suitable for our players to play in this weather, it's very dangerous. And besides, there will be a lot of visibility problems. I don't think it will be reasonable to continue on with our program anyway'

Mr. Hemphord strolled around next to Dumbledore. 'I completely agree Dumbledore, we cannot have a match in these conditions. I suggest we have a meeting, the teachers, you and I' he said referring to Dumbledore. 'And then, we shall inform you about the decision taken by the administration' he ended. Dumbledore nodded his approval and announced to the audience that they could wait in the Great Hall if they wished to, or they could simply go up in their dormitories.

The audience started to get up and go back towards the castle again. Most of them looked sad and disgruntled. Everyone had waited for the match for days and now that the day was finally here, the weather wasn't suitable! How annoying is that? Not to mention frustrating. It's like having a Twix® some distance away and not being able to reach out to it and grab it. And when you finally grab it, not being able to eat it! There was some angry grumbling along with a lot of chatter amongst the crowd as it slowly thinned. It was a bad day for the crowd, but it was nothing compared to what the teams were having.

Back in the area where the teams, the teachers and the headmasters of the two schools were seated, the Gryffindor team seemed to be having a wreck of a day. Daniel Thompson, just stood there, rooted to the ground and gaping mournfully at the sky, disappointment etched on his face. The rain seemed to have washed away his high hopes and merry thoughts of victory. Anthony Fulton, who was usually very happy when practice was cancelled, seemed ultimately grieved that their big match was postponed – he probably wanted to get it over with as soon as possible! Paul Stately and Edwin Poirier were talking in hushed voices about something. Sirius was staring into space with a blank look on his face. Selina George was looking absolutely frustrated, her pretty face was distorted into a cute frown, she had her head rested on both her hands in despair. James's situation was the closest to Daniel's. His head was hung in grief and he was absolutely still – motionless. With the grief of not having the match, he didn't even notice that Lily was calling out to him from the crowd. She had probably gotten over her anger from the morning, and wanted to be there for James at this moment.

However, Sirius did spot her – it was pretty easy, she was the only one left in the stands now. He looked over at James who hadn't even looked at her once. Lily was so sweet, and James wasn't paying her the tiniest bit of attention, he seriously had to better his relationship with her. Sirius made a mental note to talk to James about it when they got back to their dormitory. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out 'Yo!' in Lily's direction. Descending down the stairs which were stationary in mid-air, Lily looked around and waved at him. 'Was she pretty!' thought Sirius as he watched her come down the stairs and towards the area where the players were standing. The Gryffindor team was the only ones there as the other team along with the two headmasters had already left. Daniel had lied about wanting to tell his teammates about something so that Dumbledore would let them stay there and mourn in solitude.

'James… James! I'm so sorry…' Lily said as she finally came up to James. James looked up, Lily had never seen him look so sad before. He seriously needed a hug… so she gave him one!

'I so badly wanted to see you play today! When is it going to take place – the match? Dumbledore didn't say anything?' she asked him, trying to start up a conversation.

'Lily, if the time of the match was decided, Dumbledore would surely tell the whole school about it, don't you think?' James retorted in a slightly stiff tone of voice. Saying this, he turned away and sat back down in his seat with his head in his hands. Lily looked at him despairingly.

'Look, there's nothing we can do about it, right? There's no use crying over spilt potion any way!' she said, trying to cheer him up. 'Let's go upstairs, and by the way, don't you think you get more time to practice if the match gets postponed?' she asked him, meanwhile searching for more advantages of the match being postponed.

'Lily! Get real!' James shouted out abruptly. 'We've practiced all this time, and now we can't play just because of the stupid rain! And the more its delayed, the more are the chances of the Durmstrang team knowing about our statistics in the match! Don't you get it? This game holds a lot of importance – to me at least! If we lose, its…' he closed his eyes in grief and walked away from her.

Lily had tears in her eyes now. James had shouted at her in front of the whole team! Didn't he think she had a sense of self-respect? Trying to hold back the tears that were filling up her eyes, she looked away from James and started to head back to the castle. Then turning around, 'This just shows that Quidditch is all that matters to you! No one else has any importance compared to a mere match! And I thought you were different…' she said in a quivering voice. She turned around and ran off to the castle doors.

'Lily, wait!' said… Sirius,(and not James,) as he tried to stop her from going away in such a temper.

James hadn't even heard her. Sirius glared at him for a second, then, tightening his robe around himself, he marched off towards the castle himself. James simply stared into space. With no realization that he had let down the one person he had taken years to ask out. Selina, sensing the situation went up to James cautiously.

'Erm… James? I don't think that was a very good thing to do. Lily was really mad, and you know redheads' tempers, right?' she said precariously.

'She'll be okay, it's just the match… being postponed and everything!' he said in a small voice.

'You really hurt her there, and everyone knows how badly you wanted her to be your girlfriend! Now that you've succeeded in your mission, you're not even valuing her enough! And all this because of the delay of the match? I thought I knew you better! You gave preference to the mourning of your already delayed match over Lily's feelings?' Selina articulated. When James didn't respond she roughly shook him.

'Maybe Selina was right, maybe he had hurt Lily's feelings' James thought as he was snapped out of his trance. God knows what he had blabbed when he was shouting at her. She must really be hurt! He was such a jerk! He shouldn't have had… he hadn't even stopped her when she went away! Instead… Sirius had… James made a mental note to thank Sirius afterwards, he was such a good pal! He probably went over to calm her down and make her understand that James was just in a very bad mood.

'Thanks Selina!' he cried as he ran off to the castle entrance as well.

'Good job!' Fulton remarked as he came up to Selina and gave her a pat on the back.

'I just love playing cupid!' sighed Selina, gazing at James's retreating figure.

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**I know its not much, just bear with me! I promise I'll get writing soon! I need your reviews as well. I have so much to do nowadays, it's getting really hard, see? **

**Lavender Mansworth: **_Hey there! Sorry for the long wait. Thanks a lot for your review! Love ya!!_

**PadfootsLuvr: **_Yay, you regular reviewer you! How are you today? Hope you like the chappy, its not much, but its something!_

**Magicians of the Yami: **_There you are! Hope you're doing good. Sorry for the delay, I promise to put up something good soon enough!_

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_HadsKunwar_

_Signing Off_


	19. Conflicts in Life

**Hey all you lovely people out there, here's another chapter for you. I really worked hard on this one, so I would really appreciate it if you would be so kind as to inform me of what you thought of it! Er… for those of you who didn't get that, I mean:**

**I WANT YOUR REVIEWS!!**

'Ulrich, don't you think that was a bit too…' Lloyd started as he drew aside the heavy green and silver curtains of the Slytherin common room, and peeped outside at the thunderous rainstorm that had stopped the Quidditch match from taking place.

'A bit too what?' drawled Ulrich, who was leant against a wall with an evil smile plastered onto his face. He was smoking a cigarette and thick black smoke was starting to fill the room.

'Er…mean?' squeaked Lloyd timidly.

He had expected Ulrich to turn around and slap him or to say something really cruel, but what he didn't expect was for Ulrich to laugh out loud.

'Mean?' Ian Ulrich, the Slytherin Quidditch team captain repeated. 'Naw! That's a very mild word… don't you think you ought to have used… cruel or perhaps, evil?' he suggested wickedly. 'For a man who actually messed with the weather to beat down his enemies…'

'Heh' Lloyd said weakly. 'But… what's the use? I mean… it's no way helping us, or the Hogwarts Quidditch team, what did you have in min-' he started, but he was interrupted by Ulrich.

'I can't believe how thick you are! You still don't get it? It's a shame for Slytherin to have you Lloyd, seriously! Don't you think this storm will give us more time to try and sabotage our dear Gryffindor's team? And if we are, in any case, unsuccessful in our attempt, at least the Durmstrang team will get to know the statistics of the Gryffindors. Either way, the Gryffindor team is sure to lose. And Gryffindor's defeat is Slytherin's victory, I hope you remember that one Charles!' said Ulrich, letting out another great puff.

Charles Lloyd let out a small 'Oh' but then remained quiet.

'Uh… boss, about the potion Lloyd added to Black's medicine…' started Aaron Tersely, the Slytherin keeper who just came inside the common room.

Ulrich turned around so abruptly that he scared Aaron. 'What about it?' he asked.

'Well… I just found out. The potion Lloyd added to Black's Pain-relieving one _was_ the Breakdown potion' he said, pausing a bit.

'Oh? Then what went wrong? How come Black is alright now?' Ulrich asked dully, with an air of disbelief.

'What we didn't think about before we added the Breakdown potion to his remedial one was that when these two potions are mixed together they can have a dangerous aftermath' said Aaron knowledgeably.

'Like what?' asked Ulrich.

'Well, instead of the Breakdown potion being dominant over the Pain-relieving one, they can both mix together to actually form another potion which will cure the patient but it will affect a certain part of him, in the short OR in the long run.' Aaron concluded.

'I don't see him affected in any way! Is it for the good or for the bad?' asked Ulrich, trying to keep his temper for shooting up.

'It's supposed to be for the bad… that's what I know!' said Aaron defensively. 'Maybe it'll affect him in long run?' he suggested coyly.

Ulrich beat his fist down on the table, yearning to take out his temper somewhere 'And how is _that_ going to be useful for us?' he said, to no one in particular.

* * *

Sirius caught up with Lily quickly enough. 'Lily! Will you stop?' Sirius pleaded as he followed her back to the Gryffindor common room. Lily muttered the password to the portrait and barged inside. It was completely empty, as the other students were down in the Great Hall. She slumped into a squashy armchair and sniffed deeply.

Sirius, feeling a bit awkward at Lily's sorry state, sat down in an armchair opposite hers.

'I know you feel bad. And I also know that James wasn't supposed to say all that he did say…' Sirius started, not knowing where he wanted to lead the conversation or where it would be lead.

Lily remained quiet and kept staring into space.

'Lily… I hope, you at least, consider me as a friend if nothing more than that! As a friend, I'd like to honestly tell you that whatever it was with James, it was just an outburst he had there, that's it! Nothing more than that… you should just forget it!' Sirius said consolingly.

Lily snorted, but didn't say anything.

'Look, I've known James for quite some time. And… we're really close. I know him, he wouldn't dream of hurting you in his right mind! He was probably just tensed about the match, that's all!' Sirius said, moving on the conversation himself.

Lily sniffed deeply again and covered her face with her hands.

Sirius walked over to her armchair and tried to console her as much as he could. He hated to see her cry, it just felt so bad…

'Lily! You know… You know that… James loves you, right?' said Sirius, hesitating a bit as he had no idea what response he would get.

At this point however, Lily broke down completely. She cried her heart out in Sirius's chest. Sirius, not knowing what exactly he should do, patted her and comforted her by hugging her. Lily went on grumbling about God knows what and started talking so rapidly, Sirius hardly understood half the things she said, as her voice was somewhat muffled.

'It's ok! I'm sure James will be alright… its just a matter of time!' Sirius went on saying soothingly.

* * *

'Lily!' cried James as he scrambled into the Gryffindor common room. The sight that greeted him wasn't one that he was expecting…

Sitting there on the hearthrug, Sirius and Lily were hugging each other. Lily's head was resting on Sirius's chest. Neither of them seemed to notice James as he came inside. James was speechless. All this time, he had been thinking that Sirius had come up to convince Lily that James was just angry and nothing more. However, both of them hugging just gave him this weird feeling of betrayal from both sides…

'I thought I knew you better' he said loudly, and with a swish of his cloak he turned on his heel and left the common room.

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**Okay… now we're getting somewhere aren't we? Wasn't this such a happy little chapter? Lol… you must be thinking 'This girl's gone mad, she calls this happy?' No, I'm not such a meanie and yes I do know that this is a major conflict in between our very own dears James and Lily!**

**Reviewers, muah:**

**Lavender Mansworth: **_Thanks a bunch Lavender! You're the bestest of the best! I love you! And I love your reviews! They're always there to greet me when I check for reviews and they always give me new heart, you've been there all the time! I should thank you a lot! THANKS!! I've been having a Writer's block for sometime now, and especially for my other story, 'Hermione Granger and the Pureblood Prince' I like how this one is going and I know where I'm going. In the other story of mine, there are a lot of reviewers, but I'm kinda thinking sometime 'Where am I going to lead this story to?' and there I am facing a blank, empty canvas! Oh well, if I do have any ideas, I'll mail you, ok? Right then, c ya in the next chapter! Love ya! XOXOXOXOXO_

**Padfootsluvr: **_Lol, I love it when people 'muahahahha' its funny and it reminds me of this caricature my sister drew of my brother and she made him look like an evil bat, then she put the words 'muaahahha' in a speech bubble protruding from his mouth. It was hilarious! Oh well, thanks for your review and yeah, Sirius is a very good pal isn't he? Right then, until next time… Take Care! Love ya! XOXOXOXOXO And yeah, your reviews mean a lot to me! _

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Signing off,

HadsKunwar


	20. Calming Down

**Okies, here I am, back with another chapter! Sorry if it took too long, I just ain't having enough reviews for it to get me going. Thanks to those who do review though! Here goes:**

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'Wait! James…' Sirius cried as he turned his head abruptly in the direction of the entrance to the common room. He slammed his fist in his own hand as an to represent his rage. He had been trying to get Lily and James together, and here he was, on the verge of the end of his friendship with the one person he thought he really knew… 

Lily, realizing what James must have thought of her hugging his best friend when he was her boyfriend, got up from the hearthrug and looked away. Sirius had seem so… easy to confide in and she didn't even think what image James would get of her because of her actions. She had always thought of Sirius as nothing more than a good friend! She felt disgusted at what James would have thought and wondered how someone could think so…

Sirius was sitting on an armchair with his head in his hand and a grieved expression on his somewhat tired face. Lily felt really sorry for him. He was just trying to get James and her back together… at the cost of his friendship.

'I'm sorry' both of them said at the same time. Lily looked up, a shy smile on her face. Sirius's smile still gave an expression of sadness.

'What are you sorry about?' he asked in a gruff voice. 'I'm the one who should be sorry' he said.

'Nonsense… why should you be sorry? Just to console me… you let your friendship go away! I'm such a …'

'Losing my friendship is my sorrow fate, but… now James is going to get ideas about… you know…' Sirius stopped despairingly.

Lily nodded to show that she understood. Then Sirius went on, ' I'm such a shit! I endangered your relationship! Damn it…' he finished, slumping back on the armchair with such force, that Lily thought he would topple over backwards.

'But… aren't you going to go stop him?' Lily asked timidly to Sirius, she was too stubborn and too proud to go herself.

'I will, but I'll give him a head start in this hide and seek game' Sirius smiled a bit.

'Hide and seek?' Lily asked, clearly befuddled at this unusual remark from Sirius.

'Well, whenever Prongs is pissed off he goes away into a quiet corner and likes to brood by himself for a while. He usually hides away somewhere, and if I'm the one who upset him, I have to go looking all over for him in the castle. Now after a lot of practice of it, I've come to know most of his hiding places. But I know he likes to be by himself sometimes so I let him be. I guess he'll be in some dark, unused classroom this time' Sirius informed her.

A soft 'Oh' was the reply from Lily.

'But, you're right, I think I should go now…'

* * *

Stepping outside, James walked swiftly and ended up in an unused classroom. It was dark and dusty, the room gave off a sense of grief and mourn. It suited him perfectly. He shut the door behind him, leant against the cool window pane and closed his eyes. He had always thought of Sirius as his best friend, and he had always appreciated the fact that Sirius had always tried to be friendly with Lily just for James's sake. He never would have thought that… he hadn't even thought of that! Sirius had been noticeably frank with Lily since he had been cured from his injury… now he knew why Sirius kept being so sweet to her. Just the thought of it gave him a gruesome sensation. He never would have thought Sirius could be so… sick. Now he had nowhere else to go and no one else to talk to. Padfoot had always been by his side and he always went to him when and if he was facing such a situation with somebody. Sirius had always been there for him, through thick and thin… he felt completely lost without him. 

James was deep amidst these thoughts when he heard the click of a door opening. Turning around, James found himself face to face with his best friend. Or that's what he had always thought him to be…up till now.

'What d'you want?' James shot at Sirius, turning his back towards the one person he had always confided everything in.

'James, you've got the wrong end of the –' Sirius started reasonably.

James held up a hand to silence him. 'I haven't got the wrong end of anything! Do you think I'm stupid? Do I look stupid to you? Don't you think I know what's up when two people of the opposite sex – ' James argued heatedly.

'James! How sick can you get?' Sirius cried, disgusted.

'How sick can _I_ get?' James repeated 'How sick can _you_ get! I always thought of you as my best friend, and you… Instead of being happy at my success of making **THE** Lily Evans my girlfriend, you were jealous? All this time… I thought you were being sweet and friendly with her just for _my_ sake, and I valued you for that. I never even thought that all you really wanted to do was get her yourself!' James cried, turning to face Sirius again and screaming, so that his voice seemed to reverberate in the empty room.

Sirius massaged his forehead with one hand and let his best friend steam out. Then, putting a Silencing charm on the walls of the room so that James could scream all he wanted without being heard by anyone who might be strolling outside in the corridor, he said calmly, 'Look, I know that's what it may seem like… but it really isn't what you think it is!' he said matter-of-factly, meanwhile suppressing all thoughts he would have had about Lily and suppressing every kind of emotion he would have had for her in the past. He didn't want to hurt James and he never would even dream of endangering his best friend's precious relationship with Lily.

'Oh yeah?' shot back James, red in the face. 'Then what is it?'

'I went after Lily because of you! I went because she was really mad about what you said and –' Sirius started from the very beginning.

James snorted mockingly. 'That's what I thought at first as well…' he said, folding his arms in a disbelieving way as if to say 'I know it isn't that case!'

'Well, you do have a habit of doing the right thing and then misplacing it with the wrong one' said Sirius, heating up a bit. He had gotten the hint from James's grunt that his best friend was surely not believing one word he was saying. And this thought hurt him deeply. 'I simply wanted to console Lily and tell her that it would be alright. I wanted to keep your relationship from breaking up!' said Sirius, truthfully, ignoring the small voice in his head that he did have other thoughts as well when he had rushed up to console Lily.

'Well, you do have a habit of _meaning_ the right thing and ending up _doing_ the wrong one…' said James, cruelly ironic.

'I can't help it if you're so thick as to take me wrongly! At least I meant good! How could you even think I would want Lily for _myself_ when she was _your_ girlfriend!' said Sirius, trying to suppress his anger that was endangered to burst out any minute.

'That's what I want know… how can you be so gross?' James demanded.

Sirius slammed his fist against the wall. 'That's not what I wanted to do! How else should I explain this little thing? I DID NOT WANT LILY EVANS FOR MYSELF!' he screamed, finally flying off the hook.

'I told you all I wanted to do was to save your relationship from breaking up! You two make such a cute couple I couldn't bear you being separated!' Sirius said, waving his arms wildly.

'Oh? Well, then, why were you… hugging her?' asked James, somewhat sheepishly now that he was trying to understand Sirius.

'That's what you do when you're trying to comfort someone! You try to give them a sense of security…' said Sirius, smiling at the thought of it. Then, scolding himself, he looked at James to search for a change of expression. But James had turned away, he was facing the wall. Sirius could almost see James's brain working profusely. The two sides, **one** which said that Sirius was a liar and he really did want Lily for himself, and **the other** which said that Sirius would never dream of doing so and that he should forgive his best friend immediately, in James's mind were in the midst of a battle. Sirius only wished the latter one would win… waiting to see the result, he did not notice Lily Evans outside the classroom door, her brows knitted in a furrow.

When James turned around again to face him, Sirius got his wish… James was smiling. Hurrying forwards, James and Sirius shared a passionate embrace. Lily simply stood out there, smiling and rejoicing at Sirius's success. She loved the type of relationship Sirius and James shared, Sirius really knew James, he knew what made him happy and what made him mourn. Heck! He even knew where James would want to be in solitude if he was angry! They were so cute… just looking at them embracing each other in a passionate hug was more than enough to make her forget all past grief.

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**I couldn't take all the hassle of James and Sirius fighting so I put it to an end in just one chapter, see? Thanks for those reviewers who made me write on. I hope this was a lot longer than the last one I put up. Thanks a bunch you guys:**

**Padfootsluvr: **_Hey there again! Yeah, they are best friends, aren't they? I know they are! And your review made me go over and shorten the time they fought and made them make up, see? Hope this was soon enough for you and you didn't have to wait much! Keep Reviewing, if you stop, I think I'll simply discontinue the story. Thanks a lot man, your reviews mean a LOT to me! XOXO _

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**_Signing Off Till next time,_**

**_HadsKunwar_**


	21. Sorrows ARE a part of life

**Yeah yeah, I know I'm really very late in updating this one, but I have my reasons. I was busy! I was really very very very very very very very very busy. Sorry to all my reviewers who were awaiting this chapter of mine. And I still must say that… I'm not getting enough reviews. Have you read my other story? It has around a hundred more reviews than for this one. I don't know what the problem is… I work equally hard on both of my stories… Oh well… read on:**

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'Now I think you must have something to say to Lily as well…' Sirius said to James.

'Yeah' said James, clenching his jaw.

Sirius was, at the moment, too happy to notice anything. And James clenching his jaw at the thought of talking to Lily was one of the many things Sirius failed to notice.

When they both reached the door to the Gryffindor common room, in which Lily had come in before them, so they wouldn't see her standing outside, Sirius took leave, saying:

'I think you may want to have some private conversation with her'

James remained silent, he waited until Sirius left. Then, quickly and quietly entered the common room, by giving the password to the portrait of the fat lady.

Lily was sitting on an armchair, her back towards the entrance and a parchment in her lap. An ink bottle and a quill were set on the table and she bent down to get something that had fallen down when James came in. Not noticing anyone's entrance, Lily carried on with whatever she was doing – by all means, this upset James more than anything.

James rolled his eyes disbelievingly, how could someone not notice another someone come into the common room? That was so totally impossible. Lily was clearly ignoring him and if James Potter hated something – it was, being ignored. He just wasn't used to it. He wasn't exactly an attention seeker, but he usually got all the attention he needed and more. Someone ignoring him was the worst thing possible. It made him feel like he didn't matter, or moreover, he didn't exist at all. What he did not know was that Lily hadn't really heard him come in. There was nothing phony about that.

Having no other way in mind, James came forward seated himself on his favorite, squashy armchair and simply looked somewhere ahead – into space.

Lily was so surprised, as she was no way expecting James to do so, that she dropped her ink bottle all over the reddish hearthrug that lay under the table she was working on. Flushing a deep crimson, she took her wand and pointed at the bottle. 'Accio bottle' she murmured and put it on the table. Muttering 'Scourgify' the cleaning spell, she cleaned up the mess she had made. Not knowing what to do, now that James was sitting two seats away from her, she wrapped up the letter-writing material and put it away.

James rolled his eyes again. She was so clumsy! And… she was acting so naïve now, as if she hadn't noticed him come in and… she just did that ink bottle thing to show how innocent she was. Whatever!

'Lily' said James suddenly, thinking that there was no time to be wasting on it anymore. Lily nearly jumped.

'I think … I think we should…'

Lily waited with baited breath. She did not know what to expect him to say. But being an optimistic, she thought he would go on to say: '…make up' or something like that. However, James's next few words proved her wrong.

'I think we should break up' he said finally. Lily was too shocked for words. For a few moments she simply stared at him. Then, finally finding her voice, 'What?' she gasped.

'I think you heard me' said James, looking hard at her.

'But James… I…' Lily started, the tears that had stopped because of Sirius brimming up in her eyes again.

'No, look! Although we can just make up and be happy – it's just not going to be the same thing again. Like it was before! I mean… I really had my doubts when you know… Padfoot and you. This is not how a relationship should be. I mean, trust is the basic thing, right? And its just not there' he ended painfully. Lily could see that it was as hurtful for him as it was for her.

'But I didn't doubt you one second' she protested. 'James… I thought everything was perfect!' she said, her voice starting to quiver dangerously.

'Yeah? Well… you were the one who thought I didn't give enough importance to you in the first place. You can't blame me!' James argued on.

'Well… you have to admit you were pretty loud there. And I was just angry 'cause of you shouting in front of everyone! I mean… that was rude, now wasn't it?' she said, her nostrils flared.

'Ok, so I'm short-tempered! So what? You see what I mean? We can't handle each others negative points, this just isn't right! We should learn to ignore them'

'So you're saying that you think I should've simply ignored your outburst over there and should have kept on talking with you like nothing happened? Don't you think I have a self-respect?' Lily screamed at him. 'And yes, I think you're absolutely right! We really should break up! I knew all you sissy popular idiots were the same. The same darn people, all of them. Too full of themselves to actually handle another person intruding in their life! I was right all along. I think I was just too generous to reject you then. I thought you were a changed person, but now I know how wrong I was. How freakin' wrong I was!' Lily shouted, her anger finally bubbling too high to do anything else but burst. 'Now if you'd please get out of my sight, I think I'd be able to refrain from killing you!' she screamed finally, sitting down and holding her head in her hands. Her face red from all the shouting and sweat running down the side of her face.

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**How was that? You hate me, don't you? I knew that was expected – so I thought… why not? Oh well… I know what I'm supposed to do, and I think you know what I have to do as well, don't you? Yup! Reply to your wonderful reviews!**

**Lizzi, Elizabeth: **_Hey there! new reviewer? Coolio! Hope you liked the story so far, I have tried to write and write and write and write and write… but sorry if I'm late. Slytherins are just meanies, they think that if they aren't having the chance to win, then Gryffindor certainly shouldn't win at all. And because of all the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry, they want the Gryffindor team degraded in front of the whole school so they can take over and be 'the popular ones' around, see? About the French school – you must be talking about Beauxbatons right? Well… at the moment, its not at a high enough standard to compete with Hogwarts and Durmstrang, and these two are the only two top schools in Britain – you get the point right? How did you like this chapter, hope you liked it, I tried my best. Review in and tell me how you liked it, any kind of suggestions on how to make my story better are welcome too._

**Lavender Mansworth: **_Yo! What's up? I'm REALLY sorry I'm late… were you fanfiction-less for the past few days or no? Hope you got some ideas, I had some in mind and I had to mail you… but I forgot! Anyways, hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the BIGGEST compliment ever! You're the best! Oh! I'm writing this for nothing… you're probably dead by now, aren't you? hehehe… I know I'm a meanie! Live with it! Muahahahaha :_

**Pafootsluvr: **_You ARE special! It's okay if you didn't review sooner, at least you did review it! Yeah, I know, computers are pretty annoying aren't they? Mine's been acting real weird for the past few days too. Thanks for the appreciation, God knows I really need it! Especially for this one…Yeah I know, I never thought there could be friends who never fought, what kinda friendship is that? Very very boring… Anyways, the previous chapter may have been soon enough – but, I know this one isn't! I'm sorry for the delay. I was VERY busy! And… I guess that's it… you know why, right? Studies and school and story writing. I know three is a significant number but three 'S' are certainly not good! Hope you liked this one, review in and tell me all about how you liked the chapter! Rock On till next time…

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Hads Kunwar_

Signing Off...


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